27.04 Day Trip to Akaroa
We went for a day trip to the French settlement of Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula, just outside Christchurch.   Our journey took us through the Hilltop, where we had views over the hills and sea inlets, and a little someone poked their head through the fence!   We then stopped at Flea Bay for some pictures of the boat houses.     Once in Akaroa, we had a good wander around and enjoyed some local fish and chips before rain the came! Labels: akaroa, banks_peninsula, day_trips, flea_bay, joanna, nathan, new_zealand, photos, south_island
20.04 Diamond Harbour
We had a little 'family' outing with Sara & Matt to Diamond Harbour for a picnic and a little stroll!  Digging in! Sara, Matt and myself enjoying a brew!  Look at the sky! Try and ignore the catalogue pose with the white china mug! Nice cup of tea though!  Across the bay.  Diamond Harbour. Boats moored up in the harbour. Looks quite tropical!! Labels: christchurch, diamond_harbour, joanna, nathan, new_zealand, photos, sara_matt, south_island
18.04 New Country New Car!
Some new wheels were in order to explore the new country we've decided to call home for the year! After the moderate success with the Magna, with the added benefit/feature of car camping, a wagon was always going to be the order of the day. After much time spent trawling the classifieds on TradeMe and walking the 'strip' in Christchurch looking for the perfect wagon, we decided to look at Turners Car Auctions. We spent pretty much a whole day working our way through the catalogue looking at some potential transport/sleeping quarters: A Toyota Previa - ideal as all the seats fold flat to produce a bed & picnics could be enjoyed in the rain while sat in the comfort of the captain's chairs! However it smelt of wet dog & the passenger seat was broken! A Landrover Discovery - Great 4x4 vehicle, exactly what I wanted for runs into the snowfields and along unsealed roads! Unfortunately, it just wasn't big enough to sleep in, and the V8 might have been a little thirsty too! Others included a Mitsubishi Pajero, a Mazda Capella (626), and a couple of Golf's - been there, done that! With the plan of heading back to the auction that night, we wanted to check the cheaper end of Moorhouse Avenue. And it just so happened that there was a Subaru specialist, Crowesport, with some cars within our budget! Joanna had always wanted a Subaru for as long as I could remember, especially a blue one with gold wheels! After a test drive and a little chat with Trevor the car was ours!?   So here it is, our 1996 Subaru Legacy GT (B-Spec) wagon, Lexie - Joanna's choice! It has a 2.0L twin-turbo (sequential) motor, which we thought would help us see the all of the country in the short time that we have here. The wheels & the suspension (Bilstein) are factory options, the exhaust perhaps isn't. Try and find a vehicle without a 4 inch exhaust in New Zealand?! I haven't been in a car this stiffly sprung since I was in a Ferrari 348! It certainly shows you where your wobbly bits are! Crowesport provided us with a 3 month warranty on the car (included in the price), which was just as well, as the cooling system had a bit of a leak (did have to write a list of issues for the problem to be solved finally) & the rear washer spent a lot of time dribbling! We won't talk about the front washers!? Trevor & Linda were very understanding though.  Having had the rear washer sorted out I noticed that water was dripping on our boot cover. So I took a jug of water out and had a look around, it was at this point that I noticed that the rubbers for the washer pipes had not been put back. So I fitted them properly, closed the boot and went to pour the water only to hear the car lock itself! Hmm, I could clearly see the keys on the boot floor!?! Our immobiliser has a special feature that locks the doors if the car is open for a certian amount of time! I called a locksmith who took 3 minutes and 80 bucks and reunited me with the keys again! Lesson learnt!! Labels: christchurch, crowesport, lexie, locksmith, magna, new_zealand, photos, scooby, south_island, subaru_legacy
31.03 Christchurch & The Port Hills
Our first few days in Christchurch were spent getting ourselves orientated and settled in, along with looking after Mog!  After a bit of a late arrival, Joanna relaxes down and is joined by Mog, the house cat!  Surprise! Surprise! Nathan having a cup and a TRAM in the background!  Looking back over Christchurch and the Canterbury Plains, from then Sign of the Kiwi.  The view from the Summit Road looking over Rapaki Bay!  Christchurch & the Plains! Labels: christchurch, joanna, mog, nathan, new_zealand, photos, port_hills, south_island, trams
23.03 Easter Sunday Big Day Out
A slightly earlier start was had on Easter morning, as the easter bunny had delivered a large number of eggs and someone was very excited! It wasn't me by the way!! In fact, there were so many eggs that Gracie started on hers at breakfast time!  Then it was time for the Mystery Tour & Picnic organised by Deidre and driven by Roger.  What better is there to transport ten people on a mystery tour?! An orderly queue forms as people find their seats in the maxi-taxi, luckily the meter didn't start until we started moving!   The first stop on our tour was at the Warrego Vineyard for a quick tasting/tea/coffee, a toilet stop & a bit of a run around!   Spring Bluff was our destination to de-camp and tuck into the delicious picnic! Although the station itself isn't in use, the track is. To prove this a massive goods train came through!     Everyone having a relaxing time at Spring Bluff! Mean while the meter is still running... From Spring Bluff we headed to Toowoomba, for some spectacular views!    The clouds close in on Toowoomba, and our mystery tour!  Arden is looking quite innocent here, but unknown to his Pops (Roger) he's just created a diversion so the rest of us can escape from the $800 fare!! Cheers Arden!! Poor Rog, he's still trawling for these passengers through CCTV! Best of luck though, lets hope that you get those mongrels! Wow! That brought a happy end to thirteen months of living / working / travelling in Australia and what a great way to conclude by spending our last week with the Coys!! We had such a brilliant time! Find our post about the move from Austrailia to New Zealand here! Labels: easter, maxi_taxi, photos, queensland, sam_dan, spring_bluff, toowoomba
22.03 Dockside Comedy Bar
Sam & Dan very kindly treated us to some adult time (as paper cuts were increasing at an alarming rate) at the Dockside Comedy Club in Brisbane! Sam thought it would be a great idea to pipe up after the compere had asked a question to the floor, which resulted in references about me being posh(?!) & english for most the night! Sam did say that it was better that way than saying we were from Melbourne!?    It was a superb night and we had a lot of fun! And thank you Dix for the lift to & from the Club! Labels: brisbane, dockside_comedy_bar, joanna, nathan, photos, queensland, sam_dan
21.03 Good Friday on the Gold Coast
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Our journey took us through the Hilltop, where we had views over the hills and sea inlets, and a little someone poked their head through the fence!
We then stopped at Flea Bay for some pictures of the boat houses.
Once in Akaroa, we had a good wander around and enjoyed some local fish and chips before rain the came!
