Saturday, March 29, 2008

Google Ads

If you would like to support our trip, it’s easy; just click on the adds at the bottom of the page. I think we only make about 7 cents a click, but with all eight of you clicking for half an hour each day, we could rack up some serious cash money. Maybe even enough to buy a deluxe soft-serve ice cream with a Flake inside. We’ve already made $1.30, so we’re well on our way (most of that’s from us clicking). Also, maybe you’ll like what you see on the ads and buy one of the vacation packages to come down here and buy us a deluxe soft-serve ice cream in person. We’ll make this short so you can start clicking away. What better way to spend your time at work while you’re acting like you’re doing something important? YOU can help us achieve our goal (a deluxe soft-serve ice cream). We figure if you’re reading this blog, you’re pretty darn bored anyway. Thanks for your continued support, and happy clicking.


With just 30 clicks a day, you can feed this family (a deluxe soft-serve ice cream).

Friday, March 28, 2008

Our route

We're in Oamaru at the moment. We're on our way inland to see the lakes before heading to Geraldine.

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Quinne’s New Haircut

We’ve had a hard time getting our hair cut in New Zealand. Unlike in the US, in New Zealand you can’t just casually waltz in and hope the closest hairdresser can fit you in while you take a shopping break. Getting your hair cut in New Zealand is much more important than that. Here you need to form a proper working relationship with the appropriately suited salon before making an appointment well in advance. One hairdresser wasn’t even taking new clients. Then again, maybe they weren’t taking new clients that loudly accosted the salon with the entire un-kept family in need of a basic shower and dissinfection let alone coiffure. It can be a little overwhelming when the Webers park their caravan outside your beauty salon, dust themselves off, and clumsily descend upon the shop, fleas and all, with at least one kid screaming its head off.

When you don’t know where you’ll be for the night, it’s hard to make an appointment for anything. Besides, we don’t have a phone. We were finally in one place long enough for Quinne and Oliver both to have their hair cut together in Mosgiel outside Dunedin. Quinne was very excited to go to a real salon. They were having such a hard time finding the few hairs that needed cutting on Oliver’s head, they had extra time to spend on Quinne’s do. They even put glitter in Quinne’s meticulously twisted up-do. Oliver didn’t get glitter or a lolly, or much of a do for that matter.

Here’s Quinne’s new quaff…



Even though Oliver watched them cut the hair in the mirror and feels he knows how to repeat it, Amy won’t let him cut her hair (Amy is a smart lady especially since we only have a well used and seldom cleaned pocket-knife). Or Beck’s for that matter, so we need to find another salon for Amy to sneak up on. We’ll try parking around the corner and sending only Amy and Beck in next time. Wish us luck.

Things to celebrate in a small New Zealand town…


the note says "to celebrate the opening of the new ATM we are offering 20% discount on all outdoor furniture".

You know you're in a small town when the new ATM is reason for celebration.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Kid update

Here are a few pictures of the kids playing in the van. It’s really fun to see them get along. It usually doesn’t last.






Quinne is happy to sit for hours amusing herself with her art projects. She cuts out pieces of paper or fabric and pastes them onto her drawings to make adorable collages. She’s very interested in counting and learning to read and write. I have no doubt she’ll enjoy and do well at school. She loves playing with other kids, and doesn’t hesitate joining a group of kids on the playground. It’s great to see kids of different nationality playing and laughing together without needing to talk. She does seem to be picking up a kiwi accent already though.

She enjoys being a big sister, and realizes that her cute little baby brother attracts desirable attention that could otherwise be hers. When she sees this coming, she swoops in to play the cute big sister role by picking up her unsuspecting baby brother to look after him. Beck usually screams blue murder, but that doesn’t stop Quinne from plonking him down on the nearest chair where she can attend to his urgent needs. She’s cleverly deduced that they can attract more attention as a cute couple than either can on their own. If he escapes her care, she follows him and holds his hand to guide him wherever he’s going. Grannies eat this stuff up. I must admit, it does look cute. When he really does need help, she’s always there first with sincere concern ready to get him out of whatever trouble he’s in.

With his ample mobility, Beck’s into everything and needs a doting big sister to watch over him. He seems to be growing fast. He’s still a skinny little chap, but often eats more than his sister at dinner. He successfully communicates what he wants using his growing repertoire of words and sign language. Going to sleep at night can be a challenge as it is now, especially if he’s taken two naps during the day. Today’s second nap was a late one, so we’re in for it. He knows he must stay in his bed, and protests from there. He and Quinne get up to silly tricks from their bunks behind their curtain when they should be sleeping. It’s hard to be annoyed when their cute giggles sound so innocent and young, and who wants to stop them when they’re actually playing happily together?

Beck’s at the age when he loves to do things for himself. He insists on feeding himself, but doesn’t like to sit still. Without a high chair, he quickly spreads his supper all over the caravan. His spoon has a slim chance of making it to his mouth with anything left on it. He likes to hold a big person cup all by himself, but doesn’t take the time to steady himself before lifting the cup to his lips. Milk everywhere doesn’t seem to bother him, and he can’t understand what all the fuss is about. He takes after his late Gumpy in that way.

He’s just started to pick his nose. I don’t think this will develop too much further though, because when he pulls his finger out with snot on it he complains bitterly until someone wipes it clean. It’s very important for daddy to keep a hanky in his pocket to quickly calm a screeching baby with an outstretched snotty finger. At least he hasn’t figured out that he can smear it on other things. That’ll be the next phase of development, sped up by the fact that his sister is constrained in the next car seat over. Oy, I can just imagine the fuss that will create.

He needs to work a little on his timing when giving kisses. He often anticipates the kiss too soon, and makes contact with an open mouth. He loves rubbing foreheads together saying “ni-ni”.

It’s amazing how quickly they’re growing, and I relish all this time in can spend with them during our travels.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Easter

Today is Easter. We wish the kids could be with grandparents, but we’re making the most of it anyway. Easter Bunny (Amy) made a wonderful dolly for each of the kids. She spent many hours of loving effort during the few minutes available after the kids fell asleep. They turned out exceptionally well, and the kids loved receiving them. Here they are sitting on the couch…


Quinne left a note for Easter Bunny with some lettuce in a bowl. Here’s what the note said (She copied the writing). (The New Zealand Easter is a bit of a devil).


Quinne woke up on Easter morning and noticed that Easter Bunny had eaten the lettuce and left a basket with the dollies and a note in it. Outside he left Easter eggs around the campsite. Beck even found a few.
Later, Quinne made a pillow for her and beck’s dollies…


Here’s Beck trying to eat his dolly…


and Quinne feeding hers…


We took the rest of the day to enjoy the magnificent sunny weather on Otago Peninsula just outside Dunedin. It’s an amazing place with spectacular beaches and wildlife. We’ve experienced some incredible scenery, wildlife and birdlife along the southern most coastline. Here’s a little sea lion pup…


He was playing with a fish someone gave him…


Isn’t he cute?


When people got too close, he chased them away…


Here’s his mum who didn’t seem to mind how close you got, although I didn’t test her too much…


We’ve also seen unique birdlife…




and even some almost extinct yellow-eyed penguins…

Fiordlands

We spent three days in the Fiordlands National Park where we saw some of the most spectacular scenery we’ve ever seen.
Here’s Amy and Beck at our campsite…


This is some of the scenery from near where we camped…


The drive to Milford Sound is absolutely breathtaking. You feel like the glaciers hanging over your head could slide off the mountains and onto you at any moment.

This is the view from Milford Sound…


and a few other pictures from around the area…








It’s very important to wear long sleeves to protect against the sand flies, which are ferocious in this area. Also bring rain gear. We were lucky with the weather and saw only a little rain. We plan to visit again to see Doubtful Sound.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Life on the Road

Here’s what a typical day is like for us while we’re on tour…

Although he’s been getting better about sleeping in lately, Beck is usually the first to wake up. If we’re lucky, we can get him back to sleep in our bed until 7:30. Then he starts jumping all over us until we wake up. That commotion will usually wake Quinne up, who’ll join us in bed to cuddle for a few minutes before the kids force us out of bed.

Next, we make the beds so that we have somewhere to sit. After breakfast and showering, we start getting ready to hit the road. Showering in the caravan isn’t too bad; especially if we’re hooked up to a tap and we stagger our showers so that we don’t run out of hot water. If we’re not hooked up to a tap, we have to make sure there’s enough water to make it through the shower. It’s not fun to fetching water wearing a towel and shampoo in your hair.

Getting the caravan ready takes quite a while. Everything must be put in the right place and strapped down properly. If we forget something like putting the pin in the fridge door, we’ll have a mess in the caravan. The order of tasks is important also. For example, if you put the water container away before connecting the caravan, you can’t wash your hands.

Simple things like throwing the trash out can be challenging when you’re on the road. Amy usually has the shameful task of casually waltzing our bags of trash to the nearest park rubbish bin while I wait in the escape car. The rubbish bin must have a large enough opening to squeeze our bags of smelly nappies and food scraps in. Most cities are onto us, and they make the bins very small with narrow openings. We have to keep our eyes peeled for rubbish disposal opportunities. It always feels good to complete a successful rubbish disposal mission. Amy is an expert with a keen eye and a casual but effective stroll-and-drop technique. Most law-abiding citizens don’t suspect a thing.

We usually hit the road around 10:30. If all goes well, Beck is asleep by 11:00 and stays asleep until we stop for lunch. Actually, lunch is triggered by Beck waking up. When he does, we have about half an hour to find somewhere to stop for lunch before the wheels fall off the bus (i.e. major tantrum). We make lunch in the caravan and take a break from driving for an hour or so depending on where we find ourselves. Then it’s back on the road until no later than 5:00. Amy expertly researches our stopover options. Once we find where we want to be for the night, we need to setup the caravan and start making supper. We have a stove, oven, fridge and sink. We don’t have counter space. That’s one of the things (other than family) that we miss the most in the caravan. No counter space leads to ‘caravan moments’, especially when we’re all in the caravan trying to cook and mind the kids.

By the time the kids are in bed, we’re exhausted and ready for bed ourselves.

If we have the luxury of staying in one place for more than one night, we can go for a run or walk in the morning before checking out the local sights. These are usually our laundry, shopping and email days. We've thoroughly enjoyed seeing the country and I'm sure we'll enjoy settling down in a house soon.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Te Anau

is a small town on the way to Milford Sound. Situated on lake Te Anau with mountains surrounding it, the town of Te Anau is quite beautiful.


Here’s someone fishing from the dock…


Te Anau is the gateway to Milford Sound, providing tourists many ways to see the Fiordlands. The sea plane must be quite expensive because I haven’t seen it take off yet.


The helicopters, on the other hand, are quite busy. They get started before sunrise.



We're here for a couple of days since our car is getting serviced here. Its overdue.


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Friday, March 14, 2008

Scenics

Now that we’re on the South Island, I know you'll want to see pictures of the mountains. Here are a few that we took along our route.

We wanted to camp near some hot springs just over Lewis Pass, but we couldn’t find them. Instead we camped at a rest area where I took this shot.


It’s already starting to get cold at night, especially in the mountains. As you can see in the next picture, the leaves are starting to turn colors…


The glacial water is a brilliant aqua color, especially when the sun shines on it.


I couldn't get away without showing a picture of Mt. Cook…


Here’s the view from Wanaka, looking over the lake.


About 22 kilometers from Wanaka is Lake Hawea where we stopped for lunch…


And here’s where we are now in Arrowtown. This is the main drag early in the morning.

Buzz


Amy has really taken to the bees here in New Zealand. Bees are ubiquitous, and you can’t drive too far without seeing a few stacks of beehives like these on the side of the road...


The honey tastes fantastic, especially the Manuka honey which is supposed to cure what ails you.

New Zealand Driving

You can learn to drive very early in New Zealand, especially in small farming towns. After getting his drivers license, Beck took a job with the J.D.F.D…


He takes it very seriously…


He even remembers to stay on the left.

New Zealand Education

We’ve been checking out the schools here in New Zealand. Some small towns take things pretty slow, like this place…


At least they give you a chance to start again. Even adults must learn how to play fairly.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Otago

Here's where we've been recently:

Christchurch to get our passports stamped.
Geraldine to visit Sarah and Sven.
Twizel on our way to Wanaka.
Albert Town just outside Wanaka.
Arrowtown, just outside Queenstown (Where we are now).


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Lots of beautiful pictures to add after I go through them.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Murchison

Here's where we are now...


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The North of the South

Our permanent residence paperwork has finally been processed! Now we have to take our passports to Christchurch to be stamped. Yipee! Then they send us guidelines on how to be a Kiwi, and we’re in.

In our plight to decide where to settle in New Zealand, we made our way to Nelson after hopping off the ferry that took us from the North Island to the South Island. Nelson is where most ex-Boulderites settle, and it’s obvious why. The weather is perfect for outdoor activities, and the town is easy to walk or bike around. This would be a great place to live.

After a few days, we drove about 50 minutes outside Nelson to a town of seven thousand called Motueka. Amy was excited that there was a Rudloph Steiner kindergarten and primary school there. Like Nelson, they had organic food stores and a great feel to the community. This would be an even better place to live.

After Motueka we drove to Takaka, which is over a mountain pass down in the Golden Bay. For some reason, Amy was worried that Takaka would be an even better place to live than Motueka. It seems that her fears are real. Takaka is a small town of just over a thousand three hundred. There’s a fair bit of farming surrounded by lush mountains. This is what the surrounding landscape looks like…


Great bushwalks …


The beach isn’t far. This is on the way to the Abel Tasman National Park, about half an hour outside Takaka…


And plenty of great climbing. There isn’t any skiing here though, so we may have to learn kite-surfing instead.

Nightlife you ask? We didn’t notice any discos, but they have a little movie theater. Here’s what Friday night on the Takaka’s main drag looks like… Okay – Takaka’s only drag.


We had an awesome breakfast at a cool little café called Wholemeal Café. It was expensive, but the food was fantastic.


It’s a great place to sit and relax on a Sunday morning with a cup of coffee.


Takaka is largely made up of people who have decided to move here and make it their dream home instead of people who are here by default, so the community is very engaged. Now we’re off to Christchurch to claim our visas, hoping to return soon.