Our First Visitors

Nat's friends from home, Kate and Tony, came to stay for a weekend. It was a grand affair...we got the hoover out and everything. Although, I would like to take this opportunity to apologise for the dead cockroach on their bathroom floor that we somehow neglected to clean up until just before they left - sorry guys.

Anyway, it was a great weekend. We managed to entertain ourselves for 48 hours, if not more, without leaving Ohope (about half the size of Grayshott or Sileby). They arrived early evening on Friday, when the entertainment started with showers and a bbq. That might sound a bit odd but they'd been living in a campervan (with a parrot) for a few days and needed a wash (in their own opinion, not ours).

Kayaking in the harbour (on the sheltered side).

Nat kayaking (while I was unknowingly filling up the dry bag with water).

The following day we went kayaking. It was meant to be a relaxing hangover cure and tour of the harbour but after Nat and I's Raleigh-esque safety brief, which included information about the local wildlife (hammerhead sharks, killer whales and stingrays), and then paddling in some pretty rough wind swell I think they were secretly pleased to be back on dry land. A jug of Pimms and a power nap rejuvenated us enough for an evening stroll over the headland to a secluded beach to look for some flowering Pohutukawa trees. With no luck (someone had told us porkies), we headed back for some fish and chips, which we ate around a bonfire on the beach with some toasted marshmallows for pudding.

The bonfire and caveman TV
(this looked like a flamenco dancer at the time, hmm).

After a few hours of drinking and watching caveman TV we were contemplating ways of putting the fire out. Covering it in sand is frowned upon incase someone walks on it and burns themselves. So, the next best option was obviously to fill up the empty beer bottles with the nearest available liquid...our pee! It didn't occur to any of us at the time that there was an endless water supply only 27 metres away (just earlier we'd had a bet on who could guess the distance of the sea in the dark). I should probably add that it was only the guys who filled the beer bottles...the girls used wine bottles!

The next day, in a second attempt to use the sea as a hangover cure, we went surfing. There were no waves but it was still fun just to get cold and wet...well I thought so anyway.

Then it was time for Kate, Tony, the Mo (Tony's Movember moustache) and their parrot (giant sticker on the side of their camper) to leave.

We had a great time with them, enjoying our favourite activities and places, and exploring new ones. But don't worry, if any of you are thinking about coming to visit we won't make you pee in bottles. You will, however, get your very own blog post. Definitely worth the trip I reckon.

The rest of October...

Hello. Sorry for the delay in the update. Here's a little teaser before the main November installment...

The weekend after the tyre blowout incident was Labour Day (Bank Holiday) so we had a 3 day weekend of hiking and snowboarding. Coincidentally, because of fortuitous weather conditions, Saturday happened to be the first day of summer for the Tongariro Crossing (meaning we could self-guide the hike instead of having to go with an alpine guided tour) and also the last weekend that the ski field would be open.
Friday night we drove 3 hours south to a tiny village in Tongariro National Park, and stayed at Howard's Lodge, which was owned and run by a guy called Grant, not Howard.
Anyway, early the following morning, we were shuttled to the start of the crossing. The driver muddled his way through a safety brief, which included false information about toilet locations and not much else, and we set off.

Nat at the start of the Tongariro Crossing - we traversed between the mountains (behind Nat's head).

The crossing was still covered in snow but was deemed suitable for self-guiding without crampons and ice axes.

A picture of me, just to prove I did it too, and Mt. Ruapehu, an active volcano, in the background.

Hundreds of people, from seasoned mountaineers to groups of sightseers, were doing the crossing that day, but not everyone took it as seriously as we did. There was one guy, wearing jeans, trainers and one of those tassley scarf fashion accessory things (you know the ones) who we saw at the top of the crossing where we, and loads of other people, had stopped to take in the stunning views and tranquility of the volcanic craters and snow capped mountains, when his mobile started ringing. It was that really annoying Nokia ring tone from Trigger Happy TV - dela-derr-derr, dela-derr-derr, dela-derr-derr-derr. Lots of tutting and head shaking from other walkers ensued. But when he answered it with 'Hi mum', everyone just fell about laughing. You probably had to be there but it was a brilliant moment.

Nat and I half way over the crossing, just before we stopped to have lunch overlooking Emerald Lakes.

It took us a little over 6 hours to complete the 17km crossing, and we were pretty shattered by the end of it. But during the walk we decided (think we might have been delirious from altitude or exhaustion or something) that it would be a good idea to come back and run it to raise money for Nat's mum's charity project, so watch this space.

We spent the next 2 days snowboarding on the mountains just the other side of Mt. Ruapehu. It was awesome.

Nat cruising down our favourite run, The Gut, and Mt. Ruapehu's summit poking through the cloud in the background.

My new car, a Toyota Hilux Surf - she's  a beast. Note the sign with the skiing kiwi, or skiwi!

We also started our introductory kayaking course in October. There's a 2 hour session every week for 4 weeks: 2 in the harbour and 2 in the sea. It's loads of fun and we're learning a lot.

Kayaking in the harbour. Our house is just out of shot to the left.

The whole group on the course. Some interesting characters - Kirsty (3rd from left) doesn't like getting wet.

That's it for now but I'll be posting another update soon...November's been busy. Hope this finds everyone well. We'd love to hear what you've all been up to.

Love Charlie & Nat x