Flame Grillin

Dad whips out the ark royal for the first flash up since the winter!

An old English favourite with a twist

Passed a fish and chip shop the other day in town that has won several awards out here. Thought we'd give it a go! Got two portions of the fish of the day, which was a shark called silver trump, with chips. We tried to get mushy peas and curry sauce but they don't do those out here apparently. Instead they have much more obviously appropriate accompaniments to fish and chips such as "potato flips", "bacon and cheese toppers" and something called a "Hot Puppy"....didn't hear any howling out the back so I guess puppies are pets out here and not dinner?!

Hello you lovely Brits...!

Today we had a couple of hours to kill so got in the van and drove to Rabbit Island. The weather was pretty chilly but the Island was absolutely empty so we set about tagging the island with our messages. Enjoy the view :)

I love logistics :-)

Schedule for the coming weeks is sorted. Won't bore you with the exact itinerary but essentially we will   cruise all the way down the east coast of the south island from Christchurch to Invercargill, stopping at Dunedin to swing by the Cadburys chocolate factory of course....

We'll then hop on a boat to the haven that is Stewart Island and spend the night there. If you don't know anything about Stewart Island check it out here http://www.stewartisland.co.nz/ Its a perfectly preserved piece of the civilised world and apparently stunning to explore. Also I like the fact that back in the 1800's the lighthouse keeper kept his cat there and over a period of a few years the cat wiped out an entire species of flightless bird. Perhaps thats cruel, in fact its definitely a shame........but I bet that cat was the man about town in the cat world.

Following that we'll head out to the west coast to visit Milford sounds, most famously known for the incredible fjord shots in the Lord of the Rings films. After that, its adrenaline junky time! Queenstown baby! Nay wants to skydive....I'd rather sky-laugh from safely on the ground but we'll see if I can find my balls of steel nearer the time. From there we'll head up the west coast to Franz Josef to explore the legendary glaciers and then on through to Hanmer Springs for a splash in the volcanic hot pools. After that we'll drop into Kaikoura to go deep sea fishing and whale watching before heading back up to Nelson for my birthday.

So as you can see we have our ride sorted. Dad's van is an 8 seater where the back two rows fold flat into a comfy bed complete with blinds to keep out that beautiful hot UV rich sunshine should it get too much to handle (yeah right!).

Starry Welcome...

Guess what. Another day another plane. Should be qualified to fly one of these soon. This time an internal from Auckland down to mums and dads in Nelson. As per usual I seem to always be on planes with learner pilots, so after what felt like 4 or 5 left turns (which must have meant we were going in Circle's) we eventually touched down in Nelson. I was excited, weirdly it felt a little bit like touching down at home. Too be honest I've forgotten what the feeling of "home" really feels like over the last 5 or so years - but something nostalgic in me makes me smile a little and remember what it feels like for a second. Something else which helped that homely feeling was the unwelcome presence of rain.....lots of rain....flooding the runway tarmac...Great.

Step of the plane to cheers and a "Welcome Home" banner from 3 silhouettes on the airport balcony who have braved the elements. Sure enough its Mum, Dad and Jess. "Welcome to Sunny Nelson" shouts Mum....

Jess is unrecognisable, even from just 18 months ago when I last saw her. Smartly dressed and towering over me she gives me a lovely hug and almost crushes one of my vertebrae in the process. I've missed her. Mum's all excited and hugs us both and then just when you try to let go she grabs even harder! And dad is just cool calm and collected as always...but there's a nice smile, we're both trying to be all manly about it but I feel like a little boy again really.

Get a first look at the vehicle will be using for our travels. Dad has been using it for work but its a nice big silver monster. Jess is quick to point out how the seats can be arranged around a table in the back. Mum's even quicker to point out the automatic shades that come down over the windows. Dad, sensible as ever, keen to point out that its a reliable spacious vehicle....I notice he hasn't kept the fluffy pink steering wheel cover I bought him for xmas two years ago.

This morning its lovely. Sun is shining and we can see the sea and the mountains all around us. It's great to be here.

And so it begins...

A tearful farewell to mum and David was always in the script. They have been so amazing to us and most impressively managed to put up with us for the last few weeks - Thank you x

And then it began. Felt weird really. Been in the planning for many months and in the dreams for even longer. Passport, boarding pass, and 7kg's of belongings is all we have to our names. Was it daunting, a little. Exciting? Absolutely!

Caught the largest plane in the world - A380 out to Singapore. Got seats on the top deck - only ever been on the top deck of a bus and ship before so the plane makes it a tidy hat trick.

Movies on a tiny screen cause predictable headaches, and the food raises equally predictable doubts at weather eating Chicken Sausages and an eggy swiss roll for breakfast is normal :-/

Quick turn around at Singapore after the first 12 hours and kick on with the next 8 immediately. It is definitely the way to do it. Wouldn't wanted to have spent ages waiting around. Soon enough, after 3 or 4 hours of dozy-nodding-off-floppy-head syndrome, before you know it its over.....You're there.... In NEW ZEALAND! :-)

Send Off...

Goodbye...
Thanks to everyone who turned up to the send off meal.

We had an brilliant time and were delighted to receive our awesome New Zealand cake!
(Other cakes available at Jed&Annahbakery.com)

Obviously the highlight was watching Jen & John devour an entire chicken farm.

Anyway thanks again for all your thoughtful cards, words and presents!

 ciao for now xxx

Skiing stance. Check. Look like a dwarf on a space mission? Check...

Countdown begins

36 hours from now we'll be boarding....and then be bored for a long time enduring the delights of economy travel. Nay is all packed up - guess the bag weight? No, surprisingly its well within the allowance at just 14kg's! (I didn't believe it either so weighed it myself to confirm)...I haven't packed yet, leaving it till the last minute then just sliding everything off the bookcase into the bag and out the door. Easy peasy. Goodbye meal planned near heathrow. I'm not really getting the hang of this blogging malarkey. I guess I'll get better at it, no doubt you're probably hoping I get better because at the moment it's more of an action log about what's happened....once the adventure begins I'm pretty sure this'll get more exciting! Stick with us guys!

Bookworms

These 2 arrived this week. Personally I'm not a massive fan of reading, but these 2 seem like a good place to start planning a route!