Off up to Palmerston North on Thursday evening. Collected at the airport by my Aunt Mary and cousin Thomas. It’s just great being with family, esp when so far from home. Had the beginnings of a catchup over a game of scrabble (and some Baileys). So it’s actually cluster munitions (not just mines – if they even exist?) that Thomas is campaining against. It’s fascinating listening to the stories of how the UN meetings that he sometimes attends work. How you make a ‘statement’ and an ‘intervention’ and what the differences are. Quite a different world really.

Did manage to loose at scrabble (though not part of Thomas and my ongoing championship as it wasn’t just the two of us). And that was even after cunningly positioning myself between Mary and Thomas in the hope that I could nick all the triple letter squares that Mary would open up.

I’m talking too much about scrabble.

Hmmm, ok, so Friday lunchtime took a bus up from Palmy to Tauronga by Lake Taupo, where I met my (wondefully / terribly? / savagely? impressively?) fit and fun friend Mhairi. I’d been trying to find a climbing guide book to Whanganui Bay for the last week, as it was supposed to be a hard place to find. Even with detailed directions from Daniel (a guy whos website had some info on the bay) we still drove past it first time.

They warn that you need a FWD to get down the road. And for once, they were totally right (they always are, aren’t they). I was *so* glad that
A) Mhairi was driving (more on driving later)
B) It wasn’t my little car attempting to get down the track – it would never have made it.

The bay itself is held in Maori hands, and they look after it well. A totally stunning spot on the western shore of Lake Taupo, very rugged, it’d be perfect in the summer with a little more heat (though we did get 3 sunny days). We found what a lovely camping spot down by the lake, and early enough to bed to get some quality climbing done the next day.

So tomorrow I’m off to the N.Island for just under 2 weeks. Really really looking forward to it. There are two reasons for heading up… one is to see my cousin Thomas

He’s one very amazing guy (he is related after all). After doing 1 year working in Geneva working for the NZ mission for nuclear disarmament (UN stuff), he then did 1 year working in Canada with anti landmine work. He somehow managed to engineer a position co-ordinating anti clustermine work for NGOs around the world (at least that’s my understanding of it all)… and now can work anywhere in the world (currently Cuzco in Peru…). Yeah, kinda puts my work to shame.. It’s funny – mum has a brother and sister.. Thomas is the youngest of my Aunt Mary – and my cousin Catherine is the youngest of Mike (6 months between each of us). Cath is now doing some sort of aids related work in Africa (after doing 1 year in Tanzania), and Thomas is doing the anti clustermine work.. makes you think sometimes.

Anyway, really looking forward to catching up with him, has been far too long.

The other reason is to take in a weeks climbing with my friend Mhairi

– who’s been having lots of fun on the N.Island since she left ChCh back in Dec.. Hopefully get good weather so that we can get some routes done at Whanganui Bay. Should be fun!

So that’s the plan for the next two weeks.. then it’ll be back to work trying to get everything sorted out for leaving in Julyish.. (when hopefully two friends will be visiting – Domhnall and Lorcan..) So I imagine there’ll be an amount of skiing done :) Seriously… can you imagine how hard it is going?!?! to be to leave (if and when)… There’s just far too much fun to be had here.

A few weeks ago it finally twigged that my friend Linda was actually leaving to head back to Ireland quite soon. So I said ‘We should go off on a hike or something, I feel like I’ve hardly seen you’, to which Linda replied ‘Well yes, but that’s because you’re always so busy’. Which, in retrospect, is a fair point. The other day I counted up how many weekends in the last 52 that I’ve actually been in ChCh. It’s about 10 (though most of those 10 I was off climbing in Castle Hill/Rock/ something).

So, headed off on Saturday morning off up to Lake Daniels (Lewis Pass). It’s a really easy hike – just a couple of hours in.

But it’s a pretty sweet location. It was not *quite* as tranquil as I was hoping it would have been. We had some.. colourful.. hunters, staying in the hut too. It was a perfectly starry night though, and while this pic is taken when it was still light, the starlight reflected in the water was really quite something.

Then on Sunday just a leisurely stroll out, a good soak in Maruia Springs, before heading home to watch the final episode of Billy Connolly’s World Tour of New Zealand.

Last night was the culmination of 9 weeks of salsa (and meringue) practice with my (primary school) friend Linda. Lessons ended on Monday – and seeing as I could see everyone was itching to head out and put it to practice, suggested dinner and then dancing at The Loaded Hog (a venue which has salsa on Thursdays..) If you want to see two classy dancers at work (that’s Linda and I) it’s here

Autumn has really come to NZ now. I’m sleeping under my duvet with my sleeping bag over me (I could just put the heater on of course it’s true).

Also, my residency application is proceeding, they’ve just invited me to apply.. I am wondering about the whole thing though, and whether I really do want to live here or not. It’s so tempting.. just need a few more people (or a family member or two!) and this place would be totally perfect… totally.

Went to get the car WOF’d today. It failed. As expected (seeing as I’ve not yet fixed the windscreen since we cracked it with a kayak (as you do)). Still, it’s not going to be more than about $320 to get it all done, so that’s sweet as really :)

Ok, so who out there isn’t on skype yet? Get yo ass in gear! Has been great recently, more and more friends are getting onto Skype daily (plus it’s super cheap to call people). The latest two who I managed to chat to this week – were Brian O’Donovan in Japan, and an engineering friend – Andrew Quin (in Sweden). It’s just magic – especially when so far from home. And then it’s only 1.7cent (euro cent) to call a landline – so had a nice catch up with my savage-climber-friend Eliza Sprecher (in Nice at the moment)… trying to… encourage her to visit NZ… I’m quite sure my flatmate Till would enjoy doing some 8a’s and b’s.

Other fun things just in. This link to the Top 10 things – What have the Brits ever done for us is, while pretty south-parky and rude, funny too…

If you’re into some excellent (though a little old now) political satire – Andrew gave me this link to www.thedossier.ukonline.co.uk. If you have real player then click on the ‘video’ link on thedossier site, and watch ‘Between Iraq and a hard place’. Makes for telling viewing really.