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
17-19.03 Last of Melbourne
Our last two days in Melbourne were spent sorting the final bits out & chilling out. We spent a couple of hours taking some bits to the municipal tip, which was a bit of a mission to get to on the public transport system! We spent a little time in and around the City enjoying cafe culture and the brilliant weather!      And when we weren't in the City or in the apartment, then we could probably be found relaxing in the pool or hot-tub! We had an early start to content with on the 19th March for our flight to Brisbane with 85kg of luggage! Read the story here. Labels: bourke_street, docklands, melbourne, new_quay, photos
16.03 Melbourne Grand Prix is GO!
Sunday: Race Day! The previous three days had been absolute scorchers, and there was going to be no let up on this day either, with another high close to 40°C! from our grandstand seats we watched the support races and then the build up to the race itself.   An important part to the race is the Drivers Photo! The offical one was taken from Crash.net, as I wasn't allowed to take my own!  Lewis Hamilton on Pole, as the engineers ensure that the car is ready for the race ahead!  The Grid Girls line up at the front of the Grid!  It wouldn't be a complete Australian Grand Prix without the Qantas fly-past!  The 2008 Australian Grand Prix is GO! Animated picture of the start as Lewis Hamilton leads the way.  Another animated picture! Nick Heidfeld leaves the pits, but watch the big screen as you see Timo Glock a have a bit of a moment, and park his slightly lightened Toyota at the side of the circuit! Definitely time for the Safety Car to come out!  Lewis Hamilton crosses the line to win the 2008 Australian Grand Prix!   Podium celebrations as Hamilton, Heidfeld and Rosberg spray the Champagne!  Oh, who's that with the classic farmers tan?!  Thumbs up to a great race and weekend, and possibly a 'thank goodness that's over, we can now get back to the packing'! Now just two full days left in Melbourne... Labels: albert_park, formula_1, grand_prix, joanna, melbourne_grand_prix, nathan, photos
15.03 Melbourne Grand Prix Qualifying
Saturday: Time to see what the pecking order is after a winter of development and testing! No surprises really, as McLaren, Ferrari & BMW fight it out between them!  Joanna trackside at Turn 15 watching the action!     BMW, Mclaren & Honda! A bit of camera trickery happening here, as the panoramic mode is used to take three seperate photos that are stitched together to make one! Labels: albert_park, formula_1, grand_prix, joanna, melbourne_grand_prix, photos
14.03 Melbourne Grand Prix Practise
Friday Practise: The first proper run for the Formula 1 cars around the Albert Park circuit. There is also a good chance of bumping into drivers and collecting autograhs, if you're into that kind of thing!?  Come race day this would be the view we'd get of the build up, the start and the race!  The day I became a bit of an autograph tart! After seeing only a couple of V8 Supercar races during the year I had a fair idea who was who. So my first autograph was from Craig Lowndes, from Team Vodafone. The V8 Supercar drivers are very approachable, in fact Jamie Whincup (Craig's team mate) nearly ran me over while doing wheelies on a mountain bike in the V8 Supercar Paddock!  The V8 Supercars on the starting Grid for Race 1 of the Manufacturer's Challenge - Ford versus Holden!  This was the closest I got to getting an autograph from Kimi. All the other drivers had been on stage for 20 minutes or so, but McLaren & Ferrari felt that 10 minutes would be enough to satisfy everyone! It's at times like this that you realise that they're not really here for the fans! However, I got a few signatures from the drivers of BMW Sauber, Williams, & Renualt (no show for Alonso - I would have booed him though!).  My GP survival kit included: a hat, sun-cream, a radio, ear plugs, my ticket, a circuit map, a flag & the signed programme!      You can see from the photos that it's pretty difficult to take decent photos without having the fencing feature!  If, like me, you leave the circuit alone there is a good chance that one of these cards may be thrust into your hand as you fight your way to the tram back to the City! Unfortunately Joanna had cooked a lovely meal and I couldn't go out that night! Labels: albert_park, celebrity, formula_1, grand_prix, melbourne_grand_prix, photos
12.03 Melbourne Grand Prix 'Behind the Scenes Tour'
11.03 Packing Up 216!
With only a couple of whole days left (not including the four days of action at Albert Park) we purchased our boxes for sending stuff home and onward to Christchurch. The apartment was cleaned from top to bottom, which also included the massive windows too! A few days were spent living in an apartment that had been hit by a bomb, while we decided what to do with everything - pack, charity, tip, recycle, sell & send. With most things sorted, it was time for the main event... the 2008 Formula One ING Melbourne Grand Prix!    Labels: 216, apartments, docklands, nathan, packing, photos, rakaia_way, the_arkley, window_cleaning
09.03 Chevy's, Tram Restaurant & Fruitless Hot Cross Buns!
 This is really for the Neighbours fans out there, as one of these three '57 Chevy's was used as Steph's wedding car! One thing we did notice was that three wedding cars was the norm, and the majority of the time they were the same models in the same colour! We won't talk about the inappropriate use of convertibles in Docklands with the a mix of a strong winds and set hair - there was almost tears!   This follows on from our post when we had a meal on the Restaurant Tram, to show you what it looks like from the outside!  I never thought that I'd see the day when I would be able to purchase Fruitless Hot Cross Buns! I've always asked my Mum to make some, but she never did!? The buns are also sitting on my favourite magazine when I was growing up, Street Machine! I was a little surprised to find it, but because Aussie's have a serious love affair with the motorcar, I guess I shouldn't have been. The UK version stopped a long time ago, probably due to petrol prices and magazines such as Max Power - give me a real custom car any day! Labels: chevy, docklands, fruitless_hot_cross_buns, neigbours, photos, tramcar_restaurant
07.03 Contempora at Docklands
06.03 Mike Doing The Weather
One of the good things on TV used to be just before 6pm, when Mike did the weather from somewhere around the City. It just so happened after an afternoon trip to Coles, we came across him doing the weather from Docklands! So we managed to see the weather live for once...  We won't talk about the picture I took of Joanna & Mike, which I promptly lost in all the excitment because the camera was set on the wrong setting! Sorry Joanna! You may ask why we were walking back from Coles? Well, we managed to sell the Magna to a nice girl called Bex, who was looking for a wagon, a couple of days before!! We were sad to see it go, but the money was going towards another set of wheels in New Zealand - a 4x4!! Labels: celebrity, docklands, melbourne, mike_the_weatherman, network_10, photos
04.03 Sarah Comes to Town!
 Nathan & Joanna become Tour Guides for the day!    Views over Melbourne City from the Rialto Towers' 360° Observation Deck! We won't talk about the bargain entrance fee we paid, but with a combination of buy-one-get-one-free & YHA cards, it was very little!  Fortunately everyone is still smiling and we're still together! 'My group follow me...!'  Everyone waiting patiently for the drinks & cake to arrive on Southbank! I don't think anyone was disappointed or had any room for anything else!  Grand Prix preparation under way at Albert Park!  This is actually a picture of the dredging taking place in Port Phillip Bay by the boat named 'Queen of the Netherlands'. This was in fact before they had given official approval to the scheme to actually start! The lighter colour following the boat is the result of lifting the clay and silt from the Bay. Labels: albert_park, joanna, melbourne, nathan, photos, port_phillip_bay, queen_of_the_netherlands, rialto_towers, sarah_caroline, southbank, visitors
02.03 Celebrate the Bean
Another event! This time to celebrate the bean, the coffee bean! So we took the short walk to go and have a look and someone just had to get a sample Latte! You know you're an addict when...  ...you get in the longest queue...  ...and they put your name on the cup! Labels: addiction, celebrate_the_bean, docklands, joanna, latte, melbourne, photos
01.03 Brighton & Port Melbourne
The final days of having a car, meant that we had to get out to those places where we said we wanted to take photos before we left. So we drove to the closest beach huts to Melbourne City at Brighton!   The most famous of the beach huts on Brighton Beach, this adorns the cover of the Lonely Planet guide to Victoria!  Kite Surfers in the foreground of the view to the City!    During our trip to Brighton Beach, we saw the Spirit of Tasmania heading to Port Melbourne. So we raced to Port Melbourne to greet it!  Joanna waving in vain. She should know at this point, with our personal experience, that all the passengers are packed into the stairwells waiting for the car deck doors to open!! Labels: beach_huts, brighton_beach, joanna, kite_surfing, melbourne, photos, port_melbourne, spirit_of_tasmania
01.03 Melbourne Food Festival & Getaway Crew
Time to relax and take in what the city has to offer...  Another festival in Melbourne, this time it's the Food Festival! Time to relax and watch someone else do the cooking for a change!!   Just along the Yarra, between Federation Square and the MCG, you'll find the Federation Bells & Speaking Corner. A great place to enjoy views the city skyline and the river!    Two of the stars from our favourite holiday programme, Getaway! You can imagine it... 'we watch your programme all the time!'  Lets hope that Shelly has a decent wardrobe for her new role and she's not being dressed by the same person that did Toni Pearen! Perhaps this will also stop her singing 'Are your MacLeans showing?', it really is starting to grate now - perhaps that's good for keeping the tartar away!?!   You know its the weekend in Melbourne because everyone gets their trailers out! They don't necessarily have to carry anything, they just have to be there just in case!  View of boats in the Marina at Docklands! Labels: celebrity, channel_9, dermot_brereton, docklands, federation_bells, federation_sqaure, food_festival, getaway, joanna, jules_lund, melbourne, nathan, photos, shelley_craft, speaking_corner, trailers
22-25.02 Weekend in Christchurch
We had a little trip to see Sara & Matt in Christchurch! We also had to activate our working holiday visas too, as we had a couple of weeks left on our apartment in Melbourne before we could move properly. To 'ease' the move over the 'ditch' we had packed up a load of bits so that we could max out our luggage allowance! The Friday was set aside to do the stuff that you have to do when setting yourselves up; open bank accounts, get IRD numbers, and sort out a tourist visa for Australia. Sounds simple doesn't it? The bank account was opened on the second attempt, as we didn't have a proof of address for the first branch, but the second branch didn't worry about that! We didn't quite get to the IRD office... Unfortunately the rest of the afternoon was spent with Markella from Flight Centre on Colombo Street! We wandered in and explained our situation: We wanted a tourist visa to run on from our working holiday so we could stay in Oz until the end the our rental agreement. We were told by the people at immi.gov.au that we could apply online offshore - we couldn't as we had a current visa. We phoned the helpline - no answer, so left a message. Tried another number - got an answer but the person wasn't in Australia and didn't speak English! So we asked Markella whether she could sort the visa out for us, for which she replied 'we're not immigration agents'! After three hours, faxes, telephone calls and being questioned by someone at the Australian Consulate, and with a few minutes to go before they closed for the weekend we were granted the visa! One that would activate after our working holiday had expired! Poor Markella didn't know that it was going to be this much fun! She did sort out our flights from Melbourne to Brisbane (for Easter), then back to Christchurch!! Now all of the above wouldn't have been so bad, had Joanna & I had been on our own, but we had met up with Matt (Pitts), and in fact this was his second time round of sitting in Flight Centre orgainising flights & visas in as many weeks! But all was sorted!   On Saturday we took a short trip to Sumner to enjoy the Sun, Sea & Surf!      Sunday - Day of Worship: A browse around the Christchurch Classic Car show, turned up some old favourites! You don't really need to go to these events, as you're able to see many of these as daily transport!  After enjoying a delicious lunch from one of the many takeaway vans! Slightly better surroundings to the one where we spent most of our time on Friday!  The afternoon was spent at the Lyttleton Festival! Before we had to leave for our return flight back to Oz. After returning to Melbourne we expected a grilling from Customs over our visas, so we had all our documentation to prove our funds/onward travel/accommodation status, but we weren't asked a single question! Labels: christchurch, classic_cars, flight_centre, joanna, lyttleton, matt, nathan, new_zealand, photos, sara_matt, visa_issues, weekend_away
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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.
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.
