a proper kiwi summer holiday

I'm back at work this week but figure a recap of the holidays is on the cards. 

We headed down to Nelson on the 27th and have to say had a real kiwi summer holiday. Spent a fair amount of it down at the beach - Rabbit Island and Ruby Bay. I've never been much of a beach goer but I have to say I really enjoyed playing in the surf. I also have a new food obsession which is real fruit ice creams - its like a soft serve ice cream but made with real fruit... 

I also got to see a fair amount of the Abel Tasman which was great. I would recommend sea kayaking to anyone. Lunch was definately a hilight as well as the post lunch swim.  

  

We headed on down to Collingwood onthe first for our horsetrek and to meet up with JP later that evening at the Mussel Inn (which was an inspired choice!). Unfortunately the Mussel Processors were on holiday so no mussels were to be had but the rib eye was fantastic. JP wasn't getting in till later that afternoon so J and I took our time to stop off (almost) everywhere in between. Highlights being: Wainui Falls, Pupu Springs and the beach right next to where we were staying where there wasn't a person to be seen.  

     

The horse riding was another great day and was the only day that we really didn't have that sunny Nelson weather. In saying that though the zero visibility probably added a little atmostphere and reduced the feeling of vertigo when I looked down from the high trig. 

My horse Monty wanted to be in the lead and would cut off the other horses when they tried to pass him. 

We flew outta Nelson on the 3rd and was straight up to Wimbledon (where the wombles are farmed) for J's uncles 60th birthday. Now lets be honest I'm a city kid and I did my best but I'll be the first to admit that I do worry about getting sheep shit on my shoes.... 

I herded a few cows, treked up some padocks doing as best as I could to avoid the poo and along the way got a little better a driving a manual car and helped pick a huge amount of plums. 

Well holidays are coming to an end and I'm quite optimistic about the year ahead, there's heaps on but really looking forward to uni and learning something new and on that note here' s my new find that is both hilarious and educational: You Suck At Photoshop. Even if you don't have / use it have a look its a bit clever...

the stupidly busy season

So the stupidly busy season is upon us. I'm looking forward to some timeout next week, bit cheeky of me really and I can't really afford the time off but at the same time really enjoying the time out from hockey: Christmas the only holiday where there's no hockey to be played. 

Aside from finishing off what little christmas shopping I have left to do and playing a little Fable 2 and Fallout 3 it should be a relaxing weekend heading into xmas. I have a soft side for penguin related merchandise but this nothing compared to J's duck obsession but I think I have found the best duck ever. 

Christmas itself should be a bit of a laugh. Staying in Welly for Christmas. J is getting her first experience of my family christmas: 

• yum cha
• sleep  
• massive dinner - no honestly MASSIVE dinner
• singstar / guitar hero / mario kart 
• drinking  
• sleeping / more eating
  

We begin our Amazing Race on the 27th and am looking forward to a few of the scheduled and unscheduled activities. High on that list  would be sea kayaking in the Abel Tasman and horse riding in Golden Bay and catching up with long lost friends. We're passing back through Wellington and straight up to the farm for a few days followed by a brief respite back home for a few days before we we're back to work. 

Why not

I have just reread my old blog and it was definitely something something I enjoyed writing at the time. I guess it helped that I was swanning about the world and had many interesting things to write about, got to make dorky poses in front of iconic landmarks. 

So I thought why not start again - although there won't be such a theme to it perhaps I can fill it with anecdotes, pics, vids and just see what happens, I've always enjoyed writing, particularly in a stream of conciousness type fashion. 

I'm heading back to uni next year doing a grad diploma in graphic design so in some ways this is also a little bit of a sandbox for me to play in too. 

Never one to do things in halves I'm still going to be ticking along with hockey (not coaching so much but still playing)and seeing what else I can cram into what little free time I have left in the day...

I've just recently found out about this game called floorball which looks set to fill the gap over summer.

 

Its much like inline, I'm not having to much trouble shooting the ball but lamenting the lack of glide but that'll be good for the fitness. I'm also excited about the fact that I don't need to drive for 3 hours to play it. 

Cheers