Well we are legal eagles again, visas all topped up and we are back in our beautiful Adelaide suburb, and although it was fun to go, it is nice to be back into our own routines. Auckland was cold and chilly, and we got a rude awakening to winter in the southern hemisphere…back to gloves and scarves and the faithful red duffle coat.

We walked around the up market district of Parnell and I photographed John, looking very furtive as though he was a hit man, lurking by the palm tree then making his get-away down through the bush walk!

Visited the glow worms in Waitomo, which was an amazing phenomena…the caves reminded me of the caves in Halong Bay in Vietnam, but I have never seen glow worms light up like a starry sky…Beautiful. Apparently Dame Kiri de Kanawa sang in one of the caves which is domed like a cathedral. Must have been amazing. Some twit in our group tried to sing Happy Birthday….it was NOT memorable.

We zoomed to Rotorua, in order to sample all the Maori experience, like good tourists and lay in the Polynesian thermal pools, feeling like lobsters slowly cooking to death in a temp of 42C. Very good for joints and so on.

Then later witnessed the bubbling mud pools, and whizzing geysers whilst sitting on volcanic hot rocks.

Loved the name of the village…couldn’t quite get my tongue around it!

John left on Monday and my friend Lyn drove me back to Wanganui (600kms) through the rolling hills and fields of the North Island.

It was so nice to see her home again, and I walked around, seeing pictures, Chinese knick-knacks and it was rather like seeing old friends…memories of another time. It was bitterly cold there, and even colder when we drove down to Wellington to the theatre, another 3 hours drive…(I took the Lyceum and the Kings in Edinburgh so much for granted!) On the way back we stopped in for afternoon tea with her friend, who had prepared sandwiches and little cakes and served them on a three tier plate stand…it was charming!

Holidays and catch ups are always nice, and for the few days we were together, Lyn and I covered the years and the people that we were once close to.

But a major part of the experience was the sewing up of all the squares to make up the quilt. Lyn just sat at her machine and sewed away, and I was the gofer, running back and forwards to the iron, snipping edges and just generally getting in the way. It looks good. NOW I have to find a quilting group here in Glenelg to help me put on the backing.

I am very happy to be back in our minimalist apartment, to see the sea so close, and march about up Jetty Road and along the promenade by the shore. The temperature is lovely. No deep falls of snow or earthquakes (there were two on the North Island whilst I was there) or torrential rain. One night I thought the end of the world had arrived….a crack of lightening literally exploded in my bedroom and I woke as though I’d been attacked. It was 2 am, and apparently it was the worst storm they had had in over 60 years. Now, that is something. On the day I was supposed to fly back to Auckland, I was really worried I wouldn’t get back, but although it was very bumpy our little cigar with propellers took to the clouds in the capable hands of a very small lady driver. Her co-pilot looked as though he was reading the manual. Very disconcerting. Hmmmm.

Lyn took me to see some glass blowing in Wanganui. They make some phenomenal stuff, and she was hoping one of the partners in the Chronicle Glass Studio would let me make a paper weight. Unfortunately they were flat out filling an order for ‘Wellie Wood’. (Wellington) They have been commissioned to make about a million glass lanterns for the upcoming film, ‘The Hobbit’. They have already made all the goblets, and a stained glass window. So much fame and glory for such a small studio. I just loved watching the process, and now I do understand the saying, ‘red’ hot and I was fascinated seeing the blowing of the glass, like bubble gum so the lantern fitted into the wrought iron cage. Brilliant. I shall have to go and see The Hobbit now, and pay attention to the glass work!

John is going demented here with work. The safety officer has quit (been asked to) as he was  really hindering the work, and antagonising everyone by his niggling, the project manager is in Pakistan overseeing a job there, whilst the bombs are going off, and John is counting the minutes until the weekend! Stressful times.

I have come to the conclusion that no matter where we are in the world, and especially now as we are so far flung from friends and family, all of us just need ‘a wee bit of company’. So many lonely people, and you don’t realise until you do meet up with a long lost friend.

I loved this picture from Indonesia of the macaque monkey that stole a camera and snapped himself in all manner of vain poses. Just love it!