Inspiration

January 31, 2015Leave a comment

…or lack of it! I have been back in Ipoh for a week now and haven’t once thought “I must write a post about that”. The photo above was taken at the Genting Highlands, which we visited before Christmas. It is rare to see skies like that in Ipoh. Although the city is surrounded by limestone hills, they are usually obscured by haze (a combination of heat and pollution) and the sky is more white than blue. But instead of moping, we’ve decided that 2015 will be the year of exploring further afield – we’ll go further north than Penang, over to the east coast and perhaps across to Indonesia. Watch this space!

Blue

January 23, 2015January 23, 2015Leave a comment

Blue is the colour I most associate with New Zealand. The sky here is a deeper, more brilliant blue than I have experienced anywhere else, particularly this summer during which we’ve enjoyed week after week of fine weather. And then there’s the “deep, blue sea” in which the islands of Aotearoa are anchored to their place in the south Pacific (acknowledging Don McLashan here). The photo above was taken at Hamilton’s Gap on the Awhitu peninsula. Although the sky is blue, the sea here is not. This is because of the river that runs through the gap to the ocean. The black sand offsets the blue of the sky and efficiently absorbs the heat of the sun. This special place will be an abiding memory of our 2014/15 trip home and help keep away the blues now that we have to leave.

Maungakiekie

January 18, 2015Leave a comment

I have written about Cornwall Park and One Tree Hill before in this blog. The last time I walked through the park during a spring storm but today I walked right round it on the most beautiful summer’s day. The sheep were resting in the shade of the trees and dense foliage completely shaded Twin Oaks Drive. There were families picnicking, children climbing trees, a bride and groom having their photos taken, people playing volleyball and petanque. I skirted the Cornwall cricket club grounds where there were two spirited games on the go – at last a decent summer for cricketers! I climbed to the summit and marvelled at the clear blue sky and the views out to Rangitoto, the Waitakeres and Mangere Mountain. I saw a Chinese visitor spreading his arms and talking excitedly to his companions – I’m sure he was saying “Look at this. Isn’t it wonderful!”

Golden weather

January 14, 2015Leave a comment

I have been in New Zealand since 22 December and every day since then has been beautiful – a string of long summer days with plenty of sunshine, blue skies and high white cloud. I don’t remember when last we experienced such lovely weather, particularly over Christmas and New Year. In past summers newspapers and the TV news featured pictures of flooded camp-sites around the country, with stoic holiday-makers grinning from under the hoods of their raincoats. In contrast, a headline in today’s paper read “What a scorcher!” And the forecast is for more of the same tomorrow. We’ll soon be heading for water restrictions and farmers complaining of drought but for now, I for one am making the most of the golden weather.

I love Auckland!

January 8, 2015Leave a comment

I know its charms are enhanced at present by the long run of beautiful summer days and the reduced traffic over the holidays, but I love Auckland! Despite being in the heart of suburbia, all I can see from the living room window is trees and all day long I hear birdsong. I’ve been walking a lot and enjoying the glimpses of blue sea and green volcanic hills along the various routes I have taken. When I pause at a pedestrian crossing, the traffic actually stops for me (in Ipoh, drivers speed up when they see you approaching!) I like the friendliness of cafe waiters who bring my coffee, shop assistants who ask how my day is going, people I pass on the footpath who smile hello. I guess you could say I’m having a wonderful time!

Kiwi kindness

January 4, 2015Leave a comment

We have received so much generosity from family and friends since we’ve been back in New Zealand – from comfortable accommodation and delicious meals to meeting for a coffee or lunch and a catch-up chat. We’ve travelled around from Awhitu to Auckland to Ohaupo to Raglan and back to Auckland, all in superb summer weather. We’ve experienced kindness from Kiwis we had not previously met. Like Lois who runs the Pollok gallery and cafe – she made us coffees and while we enjoyed them in the courtyard, she sat and chatted like we were old friends. Like the woman who came across me sitting on a bench overlooking Manu Bay where Jim was out in the surf. She asked if I was OK and after I’d reassured her, she told me that she often meets people up there who are lonely and not OK and she takes them into town for a coffee. How amazing is she! You’re probably wondering about the kitten in the denuded Christmas tree in the photo above. She belongs to our friends in whose lovely home we stayed last weekend. She crawled into my arms, sleepy and purring, at the end of a perfect day.

2015

December 31, 2014December 31, 20141 Comment

Happy New Year to all the readers of my blog. Thank you for keeping in touch via the blog and using other online means – it has made my first year living away from New Zealand less alienating. We spent New Year’s Eve on the Auckland waterfront with our children and so 2015 got off to a good start. Hope you had similar happy celebrations. All the very best to all of you!

Amazing Awhitu

December 28, 2014Leave a comment

We’ve just spent a week in Wattle Bay on the Awhitu peninsula and this was the view from the deck of the bach. The sun shone for six days in a row and it felt like paradise. On our first afternoon at low-tide, we walked along the beach to the next bay and back, coming across a pair of breeding dotterels scurrying to distract us from their nest, listening to the squawks and clicks of what seemed like hundreds of tui feeding in the bright pohutukawa trees, watching the tide coming in, the water glistening in the late afternoon sun. Back at the bach we put some lamb on the barbecue, opened a bottle of Oyster Bay sauvignon blanc and gazed at the view, not quite believing our luck!

Spectacled leaf monkeys

December 18, 2014Leave a comment

Just as I am about to leave Malaysia for a while (and feeling very happy about it!) I get reminded about its attractions. A troop of these guys is cavorting in the tree directly across the river from my writing room. I’ve got the binoculars out and can see their cute faces clearly. They always look as if they’ve just been surprised by something. They are also the most athletic of the three species of monkey we get here. The branches bounce and sway as they feed from the bright orange flowers of the tulip trees. While I’ve been writing this, they’ve moved away. That’ll be us in a few days!

Going home for Christmas

December 17, 2014December 17, 20144 Comments

Four more sleeps till we leave for New Zealand to spend the Christmas and New Year period with our girls, other family members and friends. We have been watching the weather forecasts and it seems that summer has not yet begun in the Land of the Long White Cloud. Does this bother us? No! We have had a whole year of hot, humid weather and a few cool, grey days will be welcome. We keep talking about the things we’re going to do – hug the children, walk along a sandy beach, ride some waves (wearing a wetsuit of course), barbecue some lamb, drink cold dry sauvignon blanc, revel in the long light evenings, hug the children. Can’t wait!

Travels from New Zealand

Two olds explore the world