Holiday Report 15-30 March 2006

Matt arrives - and we are away!

On Wednesday 15th March my brother Matt arrived from Snells Beach, north of Auckland - we collected him from Christchurch airport.

We spend the day packing, running errands and just catching up.

Thursday morning - an early rising, 4:50am, if you please! We leave an hour later for Picton to catch the Kaitaki Interislander ferry to Wellington. It’s smooth sailing all the way!

Matt listens to his MP3 player, I listen to my CD player throughout the sailing - all the while Chris & Wallace chat with and entertain passersby!

We drive off the ferry and head north for Levin. A trip that usually takes an hour took nearly two hours due to major road works and dense traffic!

I dig out the instructions for getting to my brother Steve’s and sis-in-law Wendy’s new home. Matt has been there previously and finds it easily enough. Steve’s usual beer keg letter box is a clear indication that we have found the right house!

It’s great to see Steve and Wendy as we had not seen them since our wedding day 9 March 2002!

Our nephew Casey (17) and niece Melissa (15) have both grown taller in the couple of years since we last saw them. Also present is Casey’s girlfriend Stephanie whom we met for the first time.

Rotorua Market Day

On Sunday 19th March, Matt, Chris, Wallace and I went to Rotorua to visit my natural Mum. We picked her up and went to the craft market held by the lake. We looked at the indoor stalls first and then had lunch. A variety of craft and bric-a-brac items were for sale. Everywhere we went Mum was approached by people she knew! A popular girl!

After lunch we checked out the stalls outside. Here we purchased a cat for Mum, an outhouse for Dad & Mum; and I found a groovy boat for Chris (see pictures on right).

Wooden garden ornaments were the last of the stalls. Some creative dude discovered a use for old branches and odd bits of wood. We all got a huge chuckle out of them! My mother said, ”I knew you’d like these!” We couldn’t resist buying a man in an outhouse for Dad - now affectionately known as “Woody”.

Then we drove Mum back to her flat and had a quick photo session. We caught a fleeting glance of Mum’s live cat - she probably wasn’t impressed by her new rival!!!

Although our visit lasted only a few hours it was a worthwhile journey.

Don’t Do Housework On Your Holiday

Early on our journey we stopped at Steelfort Engineers in Palmerston North to have our vacuum cleaner serviced. It had a tendency to stop every minute or so during use - frustrating to say the least. Anyway, we took the newly serviced vacuum cleaner to Taupo.

On the afternoon of the 21st March, Matt, Ma & I went up town to do a spot of shopping - in the rain! Upon our return we were shocked to hear that Chris had used the vacuum cleaner and a big flame had shot out of the control panel on the handle! He had received an electric shock and a fuse had blown in the timeshare unit we were in. I was awfully worried about Chris’ wellbeing. Thankfully, he is fine.

On 25th March, after leaving Taupo we returned to Steelfort Engineers where the vacuum cleaner was fixed again. It hasn’t missed a beat since we returned home.

The moral of the story: Don’t do housework on your holiday!

Trip Home

We returned to Steve & Wendy’s around lunchtime on 25th March. Fish ‘n’ chips for lunch and a few drinks made it a relaxing afternoon. Melissa and Steve pushed me around their paddocks to meet and feed their sheep and a neighbours Clydesdale horses.

After a good nights sleep we left late morning for Wellington to catch the ferry back to the Mainland. This time we treated ourselves to Cabin Class - at Chris’ insistence. We were in a luxurious room, with free tea & coffee, our own TV and a purser at our beck and call! The ferry reached Picton at 5pm - we intended to drive 4 hours to Hanmer Springs. However, we were tired and unanimously decided to stay in Kaikoura for the night. We booked into the Backpackers and went for a meal at Aromas Cafe. Chris had steak, I had quiche while Matt ordered pork spare ribs and got the biggest plate of food ever dished! All the meals were oversized. Wallace ate the leftovers! The next morning we went back for breakfast! We got back to Christchurch at midday. We unpacked then unwound and enjoyed a few more days with Matt, watching almost 20 episodes of Stargate Atlantis on DVD - what a marathon!

Chris & I would like to thank the following people, without whom this wonderful holiday would not have eventuated:

Fairey Trust
Stephen McLennan (CCS)
Matt & Joyce Montford
Matt Montford