New Year's Day 2019

Lunch in the garden with a good book on a warm, sunny, summer's day. The book was excellent (Find Me Unafraid: love, loss and hope in an African slum by Kennedy Odede and Jessica Posner) and lunch included a few strawberries from my garden. A relaxing day although the game of squash with Lynda this afternoon was quite the opposite to lazing under my sun umbrella. 

Paekakariki Escarpment

The sky was blue, the ocean was blue and there was a gentle breeze. It was a perfect summer day to walk the Paekakariki Escarpment. Alison and I traversed it north to south and I think that was a good direction to walk it. There are steep steps both ways but in the morning we had the sun behind us and the added interest of two swing bridges towards the southern end. It was a popular outing for holiday makers today although we started a bit earlier than most of the walkers. We passed a lot of people heading north as we descended and there were about a dozen people waiting for the bus (train replacement today) at Pukerua Bay. 

Winter Holiday

I've just spent a very enjoyable few days catching up with friends and family in the lower North Island. It was fun to try out Dean's four-wheeler motorbike and go zipping up and down Waitarere Beach.

The Pacific Pearl in Vanuatu

I discovered that the Pacific Pearl has a live cruise cam that sends images to the P&O website via satellite. It's updated every 15 minutes. This photo is from Port Vila, Vanuatu. I hope you're having a great day in the tropics Dad.

Dad Cruises Away

I took Dad to Auckland yesterday to board his cruise ship. He will be cruising the South Pacific for 10 days visiting New Caledonia and Vanuatu. I wonder what he'll think of that style of travelling. The 'Pacific Pearl' was relaunched in December after an upgrade. The photos on the P&O website make it look quite luxurious. It's an impressive size - more like a floating town than a hotel. I hope he has a wonderful time. Meanwhile I've got two assignments left to finish my first semester as a Victoria University student.