Week 35: We're here for the beer

By one of those happy coincidences, it just so happened that our final weekend in Wellington occured at the same time as Beervana; a truly fabulous event (tasting notes part one and two on Kate's Blog). We drank beer; we talked nonsense with friends; I think we can safely assume that we had A Good Time. At the risk of looking like a Facebook Page, here is the evidence:

Week 34: Moving house

When I came to write down a list of the things I needed to make sure that I packed, I thought it sounded rather poetic, and almost representative of a 30-something life. When I came to actually do it, I found the reality rather more prosaic, as these words and pictures prove:

Hat and glove box

Tolietries drawer

Piles of papers, carefully organised

Rolled up tights and pairs of socks

Filing cabinet full of receipts for competitions entered and draws never won

Perilous towers of books in order of to-be-read

Wardrobe of clothes, four to a hanger, that might fit again some day

Packets of unidentified powders and spices lurking in the cupboards

Whatever is concealed beneath the blue tarpaulin on the patio

Random bits and pieces of outdoor equipment

Week 33: Walking and drinking

We headed away with some friends for a skiing weekend, which can be tricky when the skifield is closed due to high winds. Fortunately, we found alternative methods of amusing ourselves.

A spooky apparition at the window, either way you look at it!

The reasons are abundantly clear.

A walk in the bracing fresh air through the World Heritage Park clears a few cobwebs and has people practicing their catalogue poses.

Everyone deserves a drink at the end...

...except for the indecisve types who choose several.

Having brought the skis it would be foolish not to use them. And you can always devise a drinking game in your pyjamas, apparently.

Week 32: That's entertainment!

Here are my boys in matching outfits watching the television.

A signpost in the Hutt Valley shows how the locals amuse themselves.

As they say, it's the spice of life!

Dance studios and rugby games. What more could you possibly want?

Week 31: Maunga and taniwha

We had the most beautiful weather driving up the Desert Road to Taupo and the maunga (mountains) stood out dazzlingly against the clear blue sky.

Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe, and Tongariro slumber peacefully by the lake, and on a day like today it is hard to believe they are mighty powerful volcanoes.

The Ora (well-being) garden won gold at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2004. It is reconstructed outside the Taupo Museum and features and features 1000 native plants 'selected for their culinary appeal, cultural significance and traditional Maori medicinal properties'. It is guarded by the moko waiwera, or hot-water lizard.

You can almost smell the suplhur in the steam rising out of this photograph at Wairakei Thermal Valley.

At the Huka Falls, around 220,000 litres of water per second gushes through a 15 metre wide canyon as the Waikato River squeezes into a foaming frothing mass of blue bubbles.

All of this natural thermal energy is converted at the Wairakei Geo-thermal power station. There is a strange beauty in the lines and curves of the pipes.

At Orakei Korako we thought this was funny. Childish I know, and it doesn't work in an American accent.

It's colourful even in wet weather, but make sure you stick to path!

The walk around Lake Rotopounamu is beautiful and calm.

The rain is waiting for us back in Wellington, but we are farewelled with a rainbow.