Birds, Bikes and Booze

 Birds Booze and Bikes

First things first.  That blinkin earthquake.  The end to a good night's sleep came at 02.43. I hate earthquakes so much I may be back in a part of the world with fewer hazards.

Actually, Ali though it was me, but I tell you what if I can fart with such magnitude to shake the house, not only am I a world record breaker but I'm a legend and more impressive that I ever thought!!

No structural damage that I know of and no bowel problems!! Phew. (that reminds me, have any of you seen that fantastic fun film called "A Mighty Wind"; it's nothing to do with earthquakes, but it a great little feel good film).

On we go.

 

The 3 bs.  Yes, as you know, that’s me.  Like mr trump I’m constantly fighting off cleavage enhanced ‘birds’, I roar around on a HarleyD and I spend most of my vertical time swigging tequila sunrises and chardonnay.

 

You all know how I can be over enthusiastic with unnecessary words.  So this time I’m putting in a few more pictures.  After all, it was Einstein who said “a picture paints a thousand words”.  Didn’t he?  Or was it Van Gogh who said Eureka? Anyway, who ever said what, the Van Gogh exhibition was really good and if it comes to a town near you .......... it'd be madness to miss it.

 

I had a great birthday. For my 60th birthday my Dad gave me a ‘seniors railcard’, I’m guessing he did it in the hope I’d visit him more often.  For my 65th birthday Jacinda gave me a ‘gold card’ which means I can get some free rail and bus travel.  I’m guessing she gave it to me in the hope I’ll visit her.  

 

Added to that I got a bar of chocolate and a stone heart from Ali.  Romance is alive and thriving in NZ. 

But, the real treat was that we went to do the 160 kms Otago Central Rail Trail bike ride.  We had planned to do it last year but Jacinda told me that there was to be no unnecessary domestic travel, and I lost the argument when I told her a bike ride was essential.  It really is stunning with expansive views and big hills but being on an old railway line it was all pretty gentle.  Oh, it was so peaceful.  “It’s the tranquility I like”.  I was constantly thinking that at least there is a good use for HS2 in a few years.

  

 

We had to leave our bikes one night, and not cycle to the motel we were staying at.  "Oh just leave it there".  So with disbelief we simply leant them up against the old station wall.  Not locked.  Just left.  I was sure we'd never see them again.  But how wrong was untrusting me.  Next morning they were exactly where we'd left them.

We called into Mr Haynes museum.  He invented all sorts of things, not least the rotary clothes line and boot scraper with side brushes.  He also used a 'Coventry Diehead'. man ahead of his time.

 

We finished in Dunedin and stayed in a blissful AirBnB, so we partied hard, got out the booze and trashed the place.  Our host phoned to check we were happy and all was good.  In the course of conversation she said she was going to do ParkRun and did we want to join them.  Well, when you’ve just pedalled 160kms, why not run 5kms.  Dunedin is the second hilliest course in the world.  It was at the botanical gardens, through Ethel's rose garden, along the river and up the hill, twice.  Any way I digress.  Later on, chatting with our hosts I discovered they’d both been nurses at Warwick Hospital, one working on Fairfax, and the other Malins ward.  Like all others who work at Warwick, they are really really nice people. Proudly I did get my course PB.

I have just been around the estate and through the woods to see if there are any dead possums or other animals which have succumbed to our cyanide laced bait and traps.  We started off averaging 3 a night, but none at all today.  I find it a bit gruesome, but they are serious pests. It's 'for the greater good', so I'm told.  I'm pleased we have had only 1 feral cat to deal with.  No possums yesterday but one today.

 

The fencing man has just been.  We want to put some more fences up to keep the sheep out of our native woodland, and also to develop a small field for when we get 2 sheep, 2 goats and 4 chickens, or something or other.  I'm not getting bees, we already have someone who has 15 bee hives here and just gives us a bucket of honey.  When I kept bees at the allotment I got used to having Ali’s 36 Bs flying around my head.  Not now!!

I think I've found a spring so I'm going to investigate.  It would be useful.  We only have 1 water tank which is about 20,000 litres.  We will get another one and then I plan to get a solar powered pump to pump water up the hill to fill it up.  I think it is about a 70 metre height difference and about 200 metres distance.  The other day there was 23 mls of rain in about 12 hours, and before that about 7 in 20 mins. we celebrate when it rains; oh how times have changed.

 

I've just been around and picked up about 2 kgs of limes; I made some nice lime and grapefruit marmalade a few weeks ago.

 

I think I have just got a casual job at the local vineyard; picking, tray chucking, grape delivery to the press, tray washing, net removal with a heath robinson gysmo the old codger has made and mounted on the back of his ancient tractor, pruning and general anything.  I think it could be fun.

 

I hope you are all well, healthy and happy and the various jobs of all your teams are going well.

 

You may have heard NZ has 1 community case in Auckland so is going to level 3.  For here that is pretty significant and worrying.

 

Here is a bit of NZ quirkiness. 

If you visit the local GP or cafe, please take your boots off at the door.

Did you know Wellington has the highest number of very tall people per capita of anywhere in the world.  Even taller than Dan Burn.  This bridge is about 2.4 metres high.

Firing up the dishwasher for the first time was so exciting and we hope it will cut our water consumption by about 1872 litres per year.  That is about 208 showers!!

If you are on board your ship and its all too hot and you want to sit down with your feet in the ocean.  Why not hang the sofa over the bow port rail. 

If you want both iced chocolate and fruit salad - only one way to go.  Have it all in one. 

The world is beset by a pandemic and this is headline news:

Don’t you just love the NZ Air Force hanger at Wellington airport. 

And if you don’t pay for your shower, you’ll have to pay for it. 

Oh yeah, careful if you go for a walk up to the look out, there are ‘armed goats’.

 

If you run a cafe and you fear a peach shortage - grow your own - rubbish photo, but that tree is loaded.

We invited a friend around for dinner last night, he came prepared, but I'm not telling you what for.  It is though, all perfectly normal.

We were in Christchurch on the day of the 10th anniversary of the earthquake.  I hate earthquakes and have felt a few since we’ve been here, but the mood was sombre.  The memorial is lovely, respectful and peaceful.  Christchurch has been rebuilt into a lovely place and a thing I noticed was it a major city with no high rises in the city centre. 

That BTW is a painting on the side of the building.

About 3 kms from the city centre is the red zone, and area which is unlikely to built on again.  It used to be a big residential suburb.  All evidence of structures has gone, the road layout still exists and you can make out the area of peoples houses because of the lay out of their gardens with fruit trees.

And now folks, it's time for me to close; I have jobs to do.

I must go, but before I do let me just tell you ........

 Last time I told you that our container had arrived in Wellington.  That was January 30th.  On 10th March it arrives here.  It has been delayed because NZ bio-security wanted to inspect our 2 tents.  The good packers hadn't put them with everything else that needed inspecting like garden tools and bikes.  We were asked if we knew where they were.  Yeah right!  Amongst 201 packages we hadn't packed we'd know where the tents were.  I went to look myself, and eventually found 1 packed in a package labelled 'furniture'.  Who would have guessed.  So obvious, eh.  We still haven't found the second one but bio security released the container based on the pristine condition of the one tent, even the tent pegs went through the dishwasher in Coventry.  It'll be novel to have some more underpants, more than 3 shirts and essentially more than the 32 kgs we were allowed to bring with us.  We have realised that excessive possessions are such a luxurious first world problem.

I really do think about you, most days.  You are a great gang of folks that came into my life,  Thanks for the good memories.  I do so hope you, your families and friends are all still safe and healthy.

If you want another perspective ..... richetal.wordpress.com That's Ali's view on it all.