Mike and Heathers Wedding

After finishing up with the MED it was straight up to Kaikoura to spend the evening with Val and Dom. It was great to see them again, Val just back from guiding in the Arctic. Very cool. Well, very melty I suspect.. :( I wonder how long it will take before the human race will look back and think that sticking flags under the ice and getting very excited about the oil & gas prospects was just a tad short sighted.

Anyway, ehem, the next day drove up to Picton and met the wedding crew at the train before getting a boat out to Ships Cove (where cook first landed in NZ). The plan was for the younger guests to bike/run from Ships Cove through to the wedding proper at Furneaux.

It’s a very steep ride out of Ships Cove and most of us pushed our bikes quite a bit. While I look completely relaxed in this photo I was, in fact, utterly utterly knackered.

Mike and Heather would have to be probably the most relaxed couple in existence. Just before their wedding (5? days, a week after Heathers’ mum broke her foot) they were told they had to get out of their house immediately. Such is the wreckage of Earthquakes. Anyway, a work party was ushered in, and all was well. But they took the news magnificently! I suspect they were very happy to get away to the sounds and just relax (as much as a couple can before getting married!)

They had put a huge amount of effort in. Everyone had a bag with goodies from either the US / New Zealand themed around a national park, lots of puppets from the animals you would find there too. Here is Michelle with a Praying Mantis.

And a picture of Maaike and Sylvia.

All too soon it was time to leave and bike out again.

Congratulations to Mike and Heather – best of luck for a long and happy future together. I’m quite sure that if they can get through the stress of being evicted whilst in the maelstrom of organising a wedding that there’s should be little to daunt them now.