This blog is about the two of us. We can’t get together as often as we like to bemoan life, the universe and everything, so we blog instead. One of us is a full time employee and mum with too many kids, pets and plants and not enough time to contemplate her navel. The other one of us is a part time everything, which means she’s trying to live one and three-quarter lives by herself with only half a salary. We are not experts on anything in particular, but that’s never stopped us yet…
I am currently one third of the way through my three week holiday over the Christmas/New Year period in New Zealand.
So far it has been most enjoyable, however my main reason for not posting until now is that I can't seem to think of this country in terms that don't include the recent Lord of the Rings trilogy, that was famously filmed here, effectively putting New Zealand on the map. (Well, for the Americans really, and doesn't the world revolve around them and their lofty opinions anyway?). Which is silly really, considering the country has been around and renowned for many years before Tolkien even picked up a pen!
Ahem, back to my main point. Considering that the Lord of the Rings trilogy* did do such amazing justice to the fantastic geography of this beautiful country, I have been finding it extremely difficult to describe said landscape without referencing the great grandfather of fantasy** or his erstwhile grandson's*** visual interpretations.
Therefore, I am making it my mission, in my forthcoming posts of What I Did On My Holidays not to mention the Lord of the Rings. At all.
Wish me luck.
*I have recently come across a swathe of the population who believe the recent film adaptation of the books was rubbish. I beg to differ. While I salute Mr Tolkien and his bold explorations into the fantastical, making his tomes a foundation for every single fantasy novel since, reading them was like trying to run through waist deep water. Therefore, while some inevitable artistic license was taken for the films, I loved them, every one, and believe that Peter Jackson did extremely well. Considering the possible criticism from day one would have been akin to him announcing that he was making a film interpretation of the Holy Bible. **John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (the guy who wrote the books, more usually known as J R R Tolkien). ***Peter Jackson (the guy who made the films of the books).
Which I'm just a tad excited about - in case you couldn't tell.
Mr Aesop & I organised to visit his dad over the Christmas/New Year period about 6 months ago and consequently, as everything was planned and paid for so long ago, it's taken a while for me to realise that I am actually free of obligations for the duration.
I did a little crazy I'm-on-holidays-dance upon landing in Auckland, however that soon wore off once the three hours of absolutely nothing to do while waiting for our transfer set in.
And thence, onto Napier! An airport only slightly larger than a local country town hall, where I finally got to meet the father of my most favourite man. Hung over from the flight (in an international travel sort of way, not an I've-had-too-much-to-drink way), I didn't really know what to say or do, so, after the initial greetings, I opted for silence and smiling.
We were then whisked around the city centre (such as it is) and shown the night spots (three) and then on to meet the grandparents, who seem lovely, but by this stage I was busting for a comfort stop and well on my way to the land of nod, so I'm hoping I said the right things at the right intervals.
And then, home, real food and bed, ahhhhhhh.
For those of you who don't have the time or inclination to read on, the following is a pictorial essay of where I went and what I saw on my first three days in the country:
Taupo (where we stopped fro lunch and therefore spent most of our time there at a cafe, but the lake's pretty hard to miss) Huka Falls
Craters of the Moon
Rotorua (there weren't any decent photos, so you got a map instead) Thermal Wonderland (a lovely aroma of old eggs as well as plenty of nature's wonder)
The next day we drove up to Rotorua, via Taupo and a lot of exceedingly attractive scenery. The land of the long white cloud has long been in renown for its lush forests, magestic glaciers, towering mountains, lakes aplenty and much volatile landscape and the route we took was no exception.
About 10 minutes out of Taupo we went to see the Huka Falls. Where the Waikato River narrows from approximately 100m across to crash impressivley through a canyon a mere 15m wide. The volume of water flowing through often approaches 220,000 litres per second (thank you Wikipedia), this therefore contributes to quite a large amount of New Zealand's hydro-electricity supply (the river provides 15% of all of New Zealand's power).
On the road to Rotorua we stopped to take in the Craters of the Moon, a small but highly active geothermal field, complete with steam vents, bubbling pools of mud and some quite unique fauna (not much can survive with that much sulphur around). There are walkways around the whole area, as the ground temperature can vary from lukewarm to steaming without much warning. Of course, Mr Aesop's father (being the science teacher he is) decided these paths didn't get nearly close enough so we all traipsed off them here and there to get a better view. Depending on where you're standing, some of the craters make eerie sounds (that you can't hear when you're on the path *ahem*). At one point we jumped off the path near to get a closer look at the largest crater, however I discovered quite quickly (through the soles of my flimsy rubber thongs) that the ground was quite warm, so I jumped back on the path pretty quick smart.
After that it was on to Rotorua where everyone (quite literally) has a hot spring in their back yard. Now Rotorua has quite the aroma about it, most closely associated with week-old hard boiled eggs. Charming. Of course, once the olfactory shuts down after a few hours of torture, you are free to enjoy the town and surrounds. We enjoyed a delicious Indian meal for dinner and then went back to our motel to enjoy the naturally heated spa (don't put your head under the water or amoebas might attack your brain - wonderful).
The next morning it was off to Wai-O-Tapu which, according to their website, is New Zealand's most colourful geothermal area. After the few hours that we spent there I can't say that I have any evidence to refute that. It was amazing. Such vivid and surreal colours, with water varying from dirty greys to brilliant aquas and greens and temperatures from lukewarm to steaming and boiling furiously. And all the while smelling like rotton eggs - luverly.
New Zealand really does have quite a lot of unique and varied geography. After the beautiful, wide, brown and ultimitely dead* land of Australia, it's quite an adventure to come to a country that is so very alive**.
After the Thermal Wonderland it was off the Auckland, very briefly, and then on to Waiheke Island, but that's another post for another day. Probably tomorrow. If you're lucky.
*In that, everything earth shattering hapened millenia ago. **Earth shattering things are still happening today.
Well, I was going to add to the shopping saga but A did cover most of it so why should I go over it all again?? Got the guys details confirmed and that's all that matters, the car will be fixed!! Yay!!
Now, back to my favourite subject of late, CHRISTMAS!! I bought a velour, vinyl and faux fur top in Christmas green to wear with my green Christmas cowboy hat and my green Santa Little Helper apron. Teamed with a white skirt and white cross over wedges, I'm thinking CHRISTMAS!! (photo will be posted, this only sounds white trash but isn't actually!)
I've decided Velvet will theme it up as well, he has a naughty Santa apron to wear with his flashing Christmas hat. Hehehehehe, Angel boy has a Christmas baseball cap. Yeah!
In the Lead Up To Christmas* this year I think I have finally found myself in the realms of true adult-hood (if such a term exists). My reasoning behind this is that I have not had a spare evening or weekend to myself for the last three weeks and will not for the next two until I skip the country to avoid it all. I have found myself wanting to do the pre-Christmas Catch Up with friends I've barely seen all year, what with One Thing And Another, we've always been too busy, or Something's Come Up at the last minute and the next coinciding day/evening we have free won't be for another three years. I note this because in previous years I’ve observed other ‘adults’ trying to fit everything and everyone in prior to Christmas and coping with various degrees of success. To give an example of the above, last Saturday fits the bill wonderfully.
I was supposed to meet up with Mother In Law with Mr Aesop at 9:30am to head into the labyrinth that is Chadstone as Mr Aesop has not purchased a single item of clothing since I've known him and is consequently wearing stuff out. And yet, still wearing them *shudder*. MIL & I got together and went through what was needed and what was wanted and then shuffled Mr Aesop grudgingly off to the relevant retailers to try on t-shirt after t-shirt after jumper after shirt until we were satisfied.
Note: we were supposed to meet up at 9:30am. Unfortunately, we slept in and only got there at 10:30am. Now normally, this would not prove to be a problem, had I not also arranged to meet WitchOne and trawl the sales and warehouses from 12pm.
Thankfully, Witchie rang at about 11:30am and said she was just leaving her place (in Woop-Woop) and wouldn't get to mine for another hour, traffic and child depending. *Phew*, now I get to stay with Mr Aesop and MIL a bit longer and offer vital opinions on whether this t-shirt is more flattering than that one, etc.
Now due to a lack of forethought on my part, I had originally arranged for Witchie to swing past my place and pick me up on the way. However having gotten off to a late start, I then had to inform MIL that I would have to leave her at Chadstone with Mr Aesop and go and meet Witchie. I did not think this would be too much of a problem, being a boy, Mr Aesop tends to forget that maybe his mother wants to be a part of his life, etc., etc., so I thought it would give them a good chance to catch up. Of course, MIL assumed I was abandoning them there and they would have nothing to do (at Chadstone?! I ask you...!). So then it was time for The Guilts *sigh*. Now don't get me wrong here, MIL was pretty quick to forgive and forget, I just felt bad about it.
Then Witchie started ringing up wondering where she was and could I tell her where exactly that was, and how to get to my place from there (no, she did not have a street directory). This would have been fine, had I not also been trying not to get annoyed with the plebian crowds of sheep at Chadstone, coupled with MIL being frantic and apologetic all at once with Mr Aesop nowhere to be seen for support.
After phone call number two it was time for me to skip the suburb (Chadstone is that big, for those of you not in the know) and head home to be picked up by WitchOne... Waaait a second... Why don’t I get her to pick me up from here...?! Phone call number three found WitchOne performing illegal u-turns and whizzing back to Chadstone, while I raced back into the throe to try and locate Mr Aesop and MIL to hand over the car keys (see, no more abandoning! Nyer!) before she arrived.
Exhausted but relieved to have escaped the throng I said coochicoo to the child** and we were on our way.
Our first stop was a vintage store where they were advertising Nothing Over $20, with all proceeds going to the Breast Cancer Foundation. So of course, our only reason to go was to support said cause (we can justify anything in the name of a bargain). The vintage shop was tiny. One small room full of local designer clothes and jewelry (this was not included in the Nothing Over $20, a point I was a little bitter about, it was, however, discounted). The other small room full of vintage clothes from (what I assume was) the 50s to the 80s. Very soon I was loaded up with what we were trying on while WitchOne was loaded up with a slightly grizzly child. Due to the size of the shop, there were only 2 change-rooms, so after waiting a while, all three of us squeezed into a cubicle and the Trying-On began. With child grizzly, Witchie promptly pulled up her top, unhitched her bra and child was plugged and happy once again. Being vintage, I always find it’s a bit of hit and a fair bit of miss, but that was OK, there were Golden children’s book pages stuck on the wall to amuse us in between the huffings and puffings of trying to get the zip all the way to the top and the pulling and pushings of removing one item while trying to try another one on at the same time. When I was finished trying everything, I got the child (amazingly placid little thing) and Witchie started trying on.
We ended up walking out of there (after the salesgirl held the child and cooed admiringly at her a bit while we rounded ourselves up) spending a combined total of $130. Witchie snagged gorgeous faux fur coat, a slinky trench and a divine knitted dress, all of which made her look even more fabulous than usual (I should mention here that, post-partum-Witchie is looking amazing! Since I’ve known her, she has never looked this slinky) and I bought three dresses, one for my sister (it was bright yellow, I couldn’t go past it), and two for me.
Then it was onward to the designer outlet, Upto 70% Off. After some initial mishaps and diversions (no baby-change in the McDonalds and a nut/chocolate/lolly shop), we ended up at the designer outlet. It was huge. And being designer wear, a lot of it simply didn’t come in my size (I’m too tall to exist according to them, coupled with actual hips, it doesn’t make for successful designer shopping). Now, being the uninitiate that I am, I know virtually nothing about Designers, you know, who’s hot and who’s not, etc., etc. I just take Witchie’s word for it. With that in mind, I just went for stuff that looked like it would fit, not an actual brand. This meant I walked out of there with one hhhot red dress, Marilyn Monroe style, one cute and colourful skirt and another, more casual red dress/top (dress on Witchie, top on me). All for $150, bargained down from $180 (teamwork!). Considering that was still more than I wanted to spend, I really would have hated to get all of that stuff at full retail price, my bank balance would have died with me!
Initially, I had decided that I wouldn’t get anything much, as we were going shopping for WitchOne anyway (what with the post-pregnant fabulousness, she now has barely any clothes that fit her). However my newly received tax return burning a hole in my pocket coupled with Witchie egging me on (you did, you can’t deny it), I spent a lot more money than planned. Thank goodness we didn’t get to the other two sales on the list!
And then it was time to go. Shopping til you drop is fun, right up until you drop. So WitchOne dropped me off at home, continued on her way and I got upstairs and dropped on the bed (after modeling the red dress for Mr Aesop). A day well spent (spent being the operative word there).
Or so I thought.
After recuperating on the bed for a few minutes I started going through the motions of getting dinner organised and figuring out what was on the agenda for the evening when I received a call from WitchOne which went something like this:
“Haven’t had enough of me eh?”
“I just had a car accident!”
“WHAT?!”
“[giggles nervously] Yeah,”
“Are you OK? Is your child OK? Where are you? I’ll come and get you,”
“Oh, I’m on my way home now,”
“WHAT?!”
“And my child and I are fine,”
“Well that’s a relief, are you sure you don’t want me to come and get you?”
“No, it’s fine, I’m OK now”
“Well if you’re sure. So what happened?”
Apparently 4WDriver (complete with bull-bar) decided that pulling a u-turn without checking his side-mirror and over his shoulder was OK. The passenger door is all smashed up, but thankfully, that was the only harm done. Of course, the first thing WitchOne did was jump out of the front seat and go to see if her child was OK (again, thank goodness she is). She was shaking so much people were stopping their cars in the middle of the street and coming over from the other side of the road to see if she was OK, and did she want a drink, and maybe she should sit down. Anyway, after exchanging details with 4WDriver, she hopped back in her car and continued on her way. Because she’s a nutcase. Yes Witchie, you are.
The next day she rings me up again, understandably livid, informing me that 4WDriver didn’t give her his correct details! We informed her to go to the police post-haste and that was the last I heard of it. However, knowing Witchie, I’m sure she’ll get her guy – she always does.
To continue with my Lead Up To Christmas shenanigans, after calming Witchie down, I had one of my sister’s birthday parties, followed by a baby shower (another sign that I’m an adult). As they say, no rest for the wicked *sigh* I wonder how I can make up for this somehow? Do they go on an installment plan or something?
Anyway, this now brings my latest What I/We Did On The Weekend to a close. I hope you enjoyed it.
...The end
*As they say in all worthwhile and otherwise publications. For clarification, this usually begins in early October and doesn't actually finish until the post-Christmas sales have been well and scrambles though and fought over.
**Child is a 5 month old little girl who is simply delectable!
Saturday. Christ. Aesophia said she was going to blog about it so I'm going to let her (apparently I jump in too regularly) and besides, she got all the best bits!
