As promised, some photos of the balloons at Greytown.  We were lucky – the mass ascension event the morning before was cancelled due to too much wind, it showered on their night-glow event and the final event of the week was also cancelled due to wind.

The big attractions were the Owlbert balloon and the lighthouse – both of which were truly enormous, but there were also lots of the more colourful traditional balloons.

So, we had lots of fun wandering amongst the teams as they inflated and launched their balloons📷

   
    
    
   

Another word post: some internet speed issues again.

We have had a busy week: mini-break in Wellington, second italian lesson and a trip to the Wairarapa to the Balloon Festival.  There will definitely be pictures of that as it was so much fun – aside from the 5:30am start!

The vendors of our apartment have  let us know that they can bring settlement forward by a week, so we now settle on the 15th of March – fantastic news from our perspective as hopefully it also means we can get painters etc in a week early too (and therefore be in our own space sooner).  So, we are off to Wellington again this afternoon to meet the builder and painter (and maybe others) to get them to quote on the work we want done.  The vendors have very nicely given us access for this.

The break in Wellington was great – we got to give the new Mazda a run to somewhere other than the local shopping centre (very comfortable it was too), as well as a bit of eating our and shopping – for those of you who know Wellington, Unity Books was our downfall – so many interesting  books and so little time!  The weather was relatively benign and Wellington seemed to be humming – lots of tourists as well as locals out and about after work, with bars and restaurants doing well.

Greytown, where the Friday morning ‘ascension’ of the balloons was to take place was also humming. It’s a little place, but it’s become a bit of a centre for nice cafes and restaurants, and up-market antique and decorator shops for those lucky people with a weekender in the general area.  We normally stay in Martinborough as we are wine tasting, but this time thought we’d stay here to not have to drive as far the next morning. Enjoyed the balloons immensely!  Luckily it was calm enough for them to fly, and so we both had great fun wandering amongst the teams as they got their balloons up and ready to go.  Lots of locals turned out and the kids loved it.

Nothing much else to report.  Pictures to come!

Quiet week this week not helped by my having a cold.  But there were two milestones: our car (Mazda CX5, red) finally arrived and my italian lessons started.

We are still figuring out what the various buttons and dials in the car do and Rob, who sold it to us, has been very tolerant of our dropping in to ask questions.  It is very nice to drive and come winter I’m sure we’ll appreciate the heated seats!

My italian lessons at the Circolo Italiano di Wellington look like they will be less demanding than Lita was in Brisbane.  For a start they are only for an hour a week – rather than 2 hours.  I’ve dropped back a bit too – partly it was where they could fit me in, but also it gives me a chance to plug a few gaps in my knowledge.

We are trying to get a few things done around Mum and Dad’s.  We are willing but unskilled labour.  So I’ve been wageing  war against weeds in the garden and John has been helping Dad strip wallpaper to get the kitchen painting done.

  
Off to Wellington for a mini break next week as well as a night in the Wairarapa to, weather permitting, see a morning launch at the balloon festival.

As promised.

The Ink & Spindle (Melboune firm – they screenprint fabric and some some nice Australian-themed designs) quilt top.   
Waikanae River: estuary and beach

    
   

Having time is the greatest luxury we have right now.  At first it was strange not to get up every morning with somewhere to go, and for several months, through the packing up and selling process in Brisbane, there were no routines and really, it was a bit like having an extended break before everything returned to the normality of a job.

Normal is now NZ!  And we are still in waiting for the routines to begin.  But there has been time – to sew, to read, and get back into photography.

So a couple of mornings in the last week we’ve been up at dawn to visit Waikanae Beach and take photos, I’ve finished a quilt top (had the kit since 2008!) and played with sewing up some quilt blocks I’ve been meaning to try.  We are still gardening, cooking and generally trying to help out my parents, but it really has been nice to have time to potter!

Photos to come…

 

 

 

 

For once the Black Caps didn’t break fans’ hearts!  They lost in the game we went to in Wellington, but won defending a woeful total in Hamilton yesterday taking the series against Oz 2:1.

  

Quick post.  Went to NZ v Australia ODI at the Cake Tin tonight.  Thr bad guys won😞

Beautiful day, but had forgotten how cool it gets at night when there’s a southerly breeze!  

Another word only post as due to the random frustrations of technology: my Dad’s internet connection gave up this afternoon.

Today we paid the deposit on an apartment in Seatoun!  We will officially have a home in Wellington on 24 March – the Thursday before Easter.  But before you book your tickets there is a little bit of work to do: definitely painting and maybe new carpet.  So we think we’ll be in by mid-April.

It’s in a block of four with each one an entire level of the building. If you want to google, it’s 3/279 Karaka Bay Road.  We’ll be about 20 minutes from the CBD and less than 10 to the airport.  Moving back to Wellington I aspired to a water view and have definitely got one.  Close enough to the sea to hear the gulls and see the Eastbourne ferry pull into Seatoun wharf!

Slowly aspects of life are falling into place. Our car should be here in the next week or so, and I will start italian lessons at the Circolo Italiano di Wellington on 17 Feb.  And we now have NZ drivers’ licences and are working through various bits of life admin.  It will be really good though to get our stuff out of storage and have our own space again.

We are off to the cricket at the Cake Tin (officially its Westpac Trust Stadium) in Wellington tomorrow – go those Black Caps!

This will be a word post, not a picture one!

So, we have been in NZ since 14 January.  We left Barker Street on the 7th, staying with friends, Walter and Jenny, down at Wynnum in Brisbane.  There was still a bit of back-and-forthing: to supervise the loading of the removal truck, to clean the house for the pre-settlement inspection, and for John’s family to collect the whitegoods.  Even with that done there were still jobs – cancelling utilities, international mail redirection, changes contact details.  We did manage a few days at Moffat Beach on the Sunshine Coast with Walter and Jenny, and then a few last minute things including a lovely lunch down at Cleveland with Jeff and Janette (John’s brother and sister-in-law) and we were off!

We are staying with my parents in a place called Paraparaumu Beach, about 45 minutes north of Wellington.  It’s been all go since we got here: we have paid the deposit on a car (a Mazda CX5 – red of course! – due around the second week of February), and had three days of looking at houses and units in Wellington, which is where we plan to live.

The first day of checking out open houses was extremely disappointing. NZ, like Australia, is in summer shut-down mode until towards the end of January.  Even so, what we saw was expensive and required a bucket-load of work.  So, we followed up some properties that were open for private inspection.  That was a bit more promising.  And yesterday (yes, Sunday is the big real estate day in Wellington, not Saturday), we had a second visit to an apartment which had taken our fancy in a suburb called Miramar – marvellous views over Evans Bay and afternoon sun (always a bonus in NZ).  But then we saw another apartment for the first time which challenged us about our preference for the first.  So we are chewing over the pros and cons of each.  We are back to see the second (in a suburb called Seatoun) sometime next week.  It also has lovely views, is in a smaller building, and is more sheltered from the prevailing winds.  But it is more expensive.  But we would have Peter Jackson for a neighbour.  He seems to own a chunk of then neighbourhood!

Much of our time has been taken up with life tasks but we’ve had a fair bit of down time too – but we have no routine (aside from house hunting), so are very much looking forward to having our own place and being able to put down some roots.  It has been nice though, spending time with my parents and being able to just chill a bit.  And yes, we are still following the news from Oz.
There will be pictures anon: hopefully of our new abode soon!

 

 

 

 

 

Just a short post – more anon – to say we sold the house at auction yesterday.  Of course you never get what you think you should but we achieved a fair price so now we can move on.

Settlement is on 12 January 2016 – so we now have a date we can plan around🛫