Hooray for Hollywood

Well here we are in Los Angeles and it has been an eventful first day. Very confusingly it is still Tuesday 28th February because we crossed the international date line and we are now eight hours behind UK time instead of thirteen hours ahead of UK time - but we have skipped backwards so Tuesday has been going on for a long time! It’s very hard to get my head round! I got quite a lot of sleep on the sky couch on the Air NZ flight from Auckland to LA, unlike poor James who was unable to fold up his legs to fit the couch without pain. This time we got through security nice and quickly, unlike three weeks ago in Houston, and found ourselves outside the airport ready for the next part of our adventure. We spotted a bus that was heading to Union Station and hopped on to it, saving ourselves an expensive taxi fare. Then we decided to take the metro to Hollywood, to our hotel. It seemed like a good idea because it was a direct line of eleven stops, and the train was nice and quiet when we got on. However we spotted a dangerous looking knife lying on the seat behind us, and then as the journey went on, the carriage filled up with some very insalubrious characters. The man beside me was swathed in furs, covered in paint and glitter, and had bits of fluff stuck to his bald head. A spaced out looking teenager spotted the knife and waved it about a bit before putting it into his backpack. And the man across from me soiled himself. Believe me, it was unmistakable. Luckily he left the train shortly afterwards. Traumatised, James and I made our way to our hotel, the Hollywood Roosevelt, and that’s when things started looking up. We were upgraded to a fabulous room overlooking Hollywood Boulevard and the Chinese Theatre, and we can even see the iconic Hollywood sign on a hill to our left. We took an Uber to the Griffith Observatory (with Ivan, the most depressing driver in the world who thought that everything everywhere is going downhill fast, especially LA!) which I have wanted to visit since watching the film La La Land, and it was a really interesting place inside and out with views over the city. We went around all the exhibits and to the planetarium show which was presented by an actor so animated and emotional that he deserved an Oscar! We jumped on a shuttle bus back down the hill and then another Uber back to the hotel. James refused to go back on the metro and I agreed with him. Dinner was in the Hard Rock Café across the street and then back to our comfy room, from where we could hear an alarming amount of sirens screaming around the area. 

Te Papa and Gallipoli

On Tuesday the four of us went to Te Papa, New Zealand’s National Museum. There is so much to see, however we purposely went only to two exhibits. I think that it’s better to enjoy one or two things and go back another time to see something else. This suits my limited span of attention! We started with the current exhibition, which is “Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War” which is beautifully (but sadly) illustrated. It’s centred around eight New Zealanders who were involved in the eight month long Gallipoli campaign in 1915, and as well as lots of information such as storyboards and letters and photos, each of them is portrayed accurately as a lifelike figure 2.4 times human size. Each at a crucial moment in their story. 
And guess who made these? Weta Workshop of course! 
We also went to see the exhibit about the Waitangi Treaty; on our first visit to New Zealand in we visited the treaty grounds. And then we had lunch sitting outside at Beach Babylon in Oriental Bay, which was a lovely place for our last lunch together. It’s so warm and summery here and I will miss all of it, and Jamie and Kerry most of all. Later we flew to Auckland to catch our evening flight to Los Angeles. Jamie was going to a union meeting in Auckland so he booked the same flight as us and we said our goodbyes at the airport. My heart felt as if it was breaking. 

Weta Workshops

Kerry was back to work today (Monday) and we missed her after our lovely time together. The rest of us went to the famous Weta Workshops where so much model work and special effects were made for the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films. We had a lovely, young, and in his own words “geeky” guide, who had an encyclopaedic knowledge of all things Weta. We saw all sorts of helmets and spears from the films, with explanations of how they were designed. It was fascinating. The second part of the tour was a temporary exhibition about the Thunderbirds, known to James and I from the 1960s and to Jamie from the 1990s revival, so we all enjoyed that. Jamie took us to lunch at Scorch-o-Rama, a great wee beach bar. The New Zealanders really know how to do brunch very well! 

In the afternoon we decided to get Jamie’s birthday present; he has been wanting to get a power drill so off we went to a warehouse style shop which was B&Q in all but name! James and Jamie deliberated about their choice and then couldn’t wait to get back to the house to play with Jamie’s new toy! 

We went to a really great wee tapas restaurant for dinner, just the three of us because Kerry was working until midnight. Then we had a night time walk around the harbour, chatting and enjoying the warm evening. 

Onsen Hot Pools and Martinborough Wines

On Saturday (25th) it was sadly time to leave Wanaka after a really lovely time there. However we had one more treat in store; Onsen Hot Pools. We visited them before on our first visit to New Zealand, and it was delightful to be back, they are so luxurious. Last time we were there in winter which was nice because the hot pools were a contrast with the cool weather. However this time, because it’s summer, the colours of the river and the valley below the spa were much more vibrant, with speed boats racing up the river far below us. We enjoyed our drinks and snacks and chatted and laughed in our warm jacuzzi. 

We were only 15 minutes drive from Queenstown Airport so we were in plenty of time for our flight back to Wellington. 

There is definitely a wine-tasting theme to this holiday! Today (Sun 26th) we drove up and over a range of mountains on a steep and winding road called the Remutaka Crossing, from Wellington to the Martinborough area, a very pretty wine-growing region. Again all of the wineries were very individual and beautifully designed to make you feel comfortable and welcome. 

We started at Pallisers, then on to Poppy’s where a friendly young French wine expert was very helpful. Kerry took us to an extremely attractive little independent bookshop in Martinborough. Finally we went to the laid back and very popular Colombo for a pizza lunch where we saw some very cute and well-behaved children trotting about on Sunday afternoon family outings. The atmosphere was very happy and there was only one minor injury among the children! I drove back over the mountains as gently as possible with my sleepy carful of wine tasters. It has been another fantastic day. 

Happy Birthday Jamie in Wanaka

Today was Jamie’s 33rd birthday. How lovely it was to spend it with him. Kerry and I had sorted out a cake and candles yesterday, and Kerry had even put up decorations in the holiday house! We sang Happy Birthday after breakfast. The main birthday event was very exciting; we went on a speedboat on the Matukituki River, starting from the Glendhu Valley. Our friendly guide, James, told us all about the area. He also drove the boat very fast in the extremely shallow river; sometimes we could hear it scraping over the pebbles underneath as we whizzed along. He also span the boat 360 degrees from time to time, it was great fun. It must have taken about an hour to get to the furthest point that the boat could reach up the river, James told us that this varies according to how much water is in the river due to rainfall. It was about average when we were there. Then we left the boat and went for a walk through meadows and forest glades (mainly tall New Zealand beech trees which have much smaller leaves than our own) and we saw a waterfall and lots of meadow flowers. Then back to the boat and off we went back down river, swerving about at a rapid pace. It was a really excellent trip. 

In the evening we celebrated Jamie’s birthday at the excellent Francesca’s Italian Kitchen. We had a great evening and were too full to eat any birthday cake back at the house.

The Big Fig and Roy’s Peak

As predicted on the weather forecast, Wednesday (22nd) was a rainy day. We had Kerry’s home made bagels for breakfast, which were absolutely delicious. Of course a bit of rain doesn’t keep us in, so on went our waterproof jackets and we went out for walk around the wee shops in the centre of Wanaka and had lunch at the Big Fig. We shopped for dinner and I made salmon with gratin dauphinois and broccoli which seemed to go down very well. A leisurely afternoon was followed by a film night, this time Jurassic Park, which Kerry has never seen. 

On Thursday (23rd) the weather had brightened up considerably. James, Jamie & Kerry climbed Roy’s Peak. I assumed that it was just a small local mountain (it’s hard to tell heights from a distance I think) but when I collected them from its car park later it turned out to have been only just smaller than Ben Nevis! I spent the day wandering around beautiful Wanaka, a pretty good place to be. I got myself a crêpe for lunch from a wee van and sat at a picnic table at the waterside to eat it, looking out over the lake. It really is idyllic. There were a few seagulls watching me with very pale, beady eyes, and a duck too. But then I looked over my shoulder at the table and there was a whole row of the cutest wee sparrows watching me from about six inches away! I couldn’t resist giving them a couple of wee bits of crêpe. The intrepid and happy climbers needed a drink after their hike, so we went to a wee pub, and drinks evolved into dinner. We were all full of fresh air and had an early night. 

Wine Tasting in Gibbston Valley

Today the four of us were back at Wellington Airport, this time to fly to Queenstown, and spend a few days together in Wanaka. We have visited Wanaka before and loved it, and Jamie surpassed himself by booking a gorgeous modern house with amazing views of the bay. I say surpassed himself, but in fact he is always very good at booking excellent accommodation. The living room with its huge glass windows and balcony runs the entire length of the upper floor, with the bedrooms downstairs. And as usual, Jamie and Kerry insisted that we have the large master bedroom with en-suite bathroom. 

But before we even went there we collected our massive hire car at the airport and set off for some more wine tasting in the nearby Gibbston Valley. Each winery was attractive and beautifully set up to make visitors welcome.

Carrick in the Bannockburn area (so many Scottish names around here!) had gorgeous gardens overlooking a river valley, and we ate lunch sitting outside in the sunshine while James, Jamie and Kerry did their wine tasting. 

Akarua was also in Bannockburn and the friendly wine expert told us that they have recently been bought by Ariane Rothschild. 

We stopped at the Roaring Meg waterfall at the Kawarau River, where the water is turquoise blue and it has a small power station. 

Our last vineyard was Mount Rosa, which had a lovely terrace overlooking the valley and their vines. It also had a winery dog, an Australian terrier called Baz, with whom Kerry fell in love! What a lovely afternoon. 

Zealandia

After a hearty brunch on Monday (20th) we visited a viewpoint in Charles Plummer Park on the lower slopes of Mount Victoria where we had excellent views over Wellington Harbour. It was beautiful and very hot in the sunshine. Then at Jamie’s suggestion we went to Zealandia, a bird and wildlife sanctuary on a hill above Wellington. I was concerned about walking in the heat (so often my downfall!) but I needn’t have worried; the paths were quite shady and the distances were small. It was a great wee place with lots of birds, not in cages but attracted by various strategically places feeders. I liked the big brown parrot type birds called Kakas but my favourites were the cute and bold little white-breasted Toutouwai, also known as North Island robins, who hopped right up to my feet. Most exciting though was the Tuatara that I spotted sunning itself in the research area; it’s a reptile with a spiny crest that is considered to be a living fossil. It looks like a big lizard but it has its own lineage and is very rare. 

Maranui Café

Today was Sunday, and we had a leisurely start to the day, lounging around Jamie and Kerry’s before heading to one of Jamie’s favourite lunch spots, the Maranui Café at Lyall Bay. It was another absolutely beautiful day and as we waited in the short queue (it’s a popular place!) we could see lots of adults’ and children’s boat races going on, it was nice to see so many people out enjoying themselves on a Sunday morning. We got a table outside on the deck overlooking the sandy bay and had a delicious brunch. We were quite near the airport again so James and Jamie had a fine time identifying the planes, and we all had a nice chat. Then we went to Wellington Harbour, which I had observed from the deck of the ship yesterday. It was bustling with lots of people out for a Sunday walk; there were stalls selling food and drink and lots to look at. The City to Sea bridge is part bridge and part artwork and is very striking, with lots of carvings and places to look through. It was such a fun walk but annoyingly my cold has progressed to much coughing and spluttering; hopefully it will pass quickly. Jamie and I went out for groceries to Moore Wilsons, a very nice wee supermarket reminiscent of a Waitrose. We got cheese and bread, new potatoes and pickles, and Kerry and I made a fondue for dinner which was delicious. 

Pizzas in Wellington

This morning we caught the 11 a.m. ferry from Picton back to Wellington. It all went smoothly and we had a lovely three and a half hour trip, quaffing cups of tea and going out onto the deck. I have always enjoyed journeys by ferry and it felt very special to be on the ferry between the south and north islands of New Zealand. It was a beautiful day and the sea was sparkling. I loved it. 

As we arrived in Wellington I enjoyed looking at the busy port and its surroundings. There was another Interislander Ferry waiting to depart, big container ships, lots of lorries at the port and a busy road behind. Further round the bay there were lots of little white-sailed yachts, and several planes heading in to the airport over the hill. It was an industrial scene worthy of New Zealand’s capital city. Jamie and Kerry took us back to their gorgeous house and later we went for a wee walk at Island Bay, which is very close to them, it was beautiful with waves breaking over the rocks. Jamie and Kerry made pizzas for dinner in their pizza oven in the garden; Kerry had already prepared the dough for the bases and they had a variety of toppings which we ate at the table outside by candle light Then Kerry made crème brulées for dessert and they were divine. Kerry has seen Top Gun: Maverick, which is the sequel to Top Gun, but she has never seen the original film, so we watched it after dinner. Very enjoyable! It was a truly lovely evening. 

Dolphins in Queen Charlotte Sound

We headed to Picton this morning to go on a dolphin watching trip. It was really just an excuse to go on a boat trip on a beautiful sunny day. Picton looked very pretty in the sunshine as we set off along Queen Charlotte Sound, which has lots of inlets surrounded by tree-clad hills.  The water was the most beautiful blue-green and very calm. And we did indeed meet a pod of rare Hector dolphins, which are very small. They came close to the boat so we got a good look. The only drawback to an otherwise delightful day was that I have developed a sudden and violent cold - my nose is running and my cough is deep and wheezy. I just hope that it goes away as quickly as it has arrived. When I got back to our hotel after the boat trip I fell into bed and slept for three solid hours while James walked up to the lookout at Mount Vernon, a hill which has good views over Blenheim. The New Zealand Hills look quite verdant and Scottish at first sight, but on closer inspection they have sharper edges; James says that this is because they are newer therefore less eroded by weather. When he got back we went downstairs to Happy Hour at the hotel pool, I had a swim and we had cocktails and were entertained by Chris Kea, who was a great wee singer and guitarist. It became quite busy and jolly round the pool as more people arrived. Later we had our final dinner at this pleasant little hotel, we have very much enjoyed our time here but are look forward to seeing Jamie and Kerry tomorrow. 

Villa Maria, Nautilus and Hunter’s vineyards

We headed back to the vineyards around Blenheim today (Thurs 16th) for some tastings at their Cellar Doors, as they call their tasting areas. It was cloudy, hot and very humid; the cloud were clinging to the slopes of the mountains in the distance. First stop was at Villa Maria where the tasting was free, and the sales lady was very friendly. James purchased a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. Next stop was Nautilus were for a small charge (10 NZ dollars) James was able to taste four wines. His favourite was the Albariño, so he purchased a bottle of that too. Hunter’s Wine’s were next, again for a small charge, and again very friendly and informative. Their sparkling wines are called Miru Miru, the Maori names for bubbles. Needless to say, James bought another bottle of wine. We had a platter of cheese and charcuterie at Hunter’s; many of the vineyards have small restaurants attached. It really was a very peaceful and pleasant day. 

In the evening James booked Gramado’s Brazilian restaurant, apparently Blenheim’s top restaurant. It was indeed excellent, with unusual and delicious dishes, many of which were liberally infused with chilli. In fact one of the staff even brought us a plate with all the different types of chilli to try, laid out in order of sweet and a wee bit spicy, through very spicy, to lethally spicy. With my cough issues I didn’t dare try any but the mildest, however James is made of sterner stuff and tried even the strongest. He managed to stay mostly inscrutable until the last one, which made him swiftly reach for his wine glass to quench the burn! The restaurant was very busy but the service was still excellent, and we had a lovely evening. 

Nelson and Earthquake!

This morning (Wed 15th) we drove over the hills and through valleys to the little seaside town of Nelson; it took just under two hours from Blenheim and the drive was very pleasant. When we got there it was very hot and we headed to nearby Tahunanui Beach, stopping for cool drinks on the way. It was great to see lots of people swimming in the sea, and of course I wanted to join them. The trouble was that I had neither swimming costume nor towel with me. Needless to say I didn’t let that hold me back. T-shirt and pants became my swimming costume, there was a small and very basic changing room at the Beach Café, and I was soon running into the waves. These were quite large but I was encouraged by the sight of all the other bold swimmers. From time to time a wave rose up high enough above me to obscure the horizon in scenes that reminded me of the waves in the film “The Perfect Storm.” James walked up and down the length of the sandy beach while I was swimming. It was all great fun until I had to face the logistics of getting out and dried. I used the shower in the changing room to get rid of some of the sand and salt, and put on my clothes and my new pants (purchased in a Countdown supermarket that we passed) onto wet skin which wasn’t all that pleasant. However it was so warm that I soon dried off.

On our way back to Blenheim we stopped at Havelock, home of the green-lipped mussel, and had a tasty meal in The Captain’s Daughter restaurant. James had the mussels and assured me that they did not disappoint. Half way through our meal, at about twenty past seven, there was a loud rumbling and the whole building started to shake. It went on for about 15 seconds and everyone including the staff were all looking around. It was an earthquake! Immediately afterwards Jamie phoned from Wellington - they had felt it too, it originated between the north and south islands. The magnitude was 6.3, which is a strong earthquake. It’s also the first earthquake that I have ever experienced. 

Cloudy Bay Winery

After a very good sleep, we set off to explore the little town of Blenheim today (Tues 14th) The weather was rather blustery, the edge of the bad weather in the north. It’s fairly modern and low level, and is surrounded on all sides by many, many vineyards. We were surprised to learn that wine growing didn’t start here until as late as the 1980s and wasn’t well established until the 1990s. We collected our hire car from the airport - I won’t even go into the palaver we went through to hire it, and headed straight to the iconic Cloudy Bay Winery. It was not far - in fact all of the vineyards are nearby. It is extremely smart, all wood and glass, with a welcoming visitor centre and a restaurant. We were soon set up at a table with snacks and James chose four wines to taste. These visitor centres are called Cellar Doors, and not all of the vineyards have them, but plenty do. We had a lovely time there, and James bought a bottle of wine to drink back at the hotel. 

We then spontaneously visited the Aircraft Museum, because we had seen so many signs to it! We knew it would be very small, but in fact it was surprisingly excellent. The highlight for me was a very good wrap-around immersive experience where you are in a bombed building during the battle of Stalingrad with planes bombing and crashing all around. It was very realistic. Then the film changes to the statistics of how many soldiers and airmen from all the different countries died in the various campaigns of the 2nd World War. It was well conveyed and very shocking - especially the stats from the Eastern front. So many Germans died, but exponentially more Russians. Terrible. Back at the hotel we had a nice dinner and an early night. 

Journey to Blenheim

We woke up in Jamie and Kerry’s lovely home (Monday 13th.) Jamie was already off to work so we went for brunch with Kerry to the Spruce Goose, a lovely café that she chose for us near the airport. New Zealand has an excellent café culture. A New Zealand Air Force Boeing 757 landed at the airport when we were having our coffee; perhaps it was transporting the new Prime Minister of New Zealand, Chris Hipkins. 

We then borrowed Jamie’s car and made our way to the Interislander Ferry Terminal, to embark on a trip to the Marlborough area while Jamie and Kerry are working this week. We had originally planned to go north to Hawkes Bay but sadly it has been devastated by the cyclone.

This is where things got complicated. We had rather optimistically assumed that we would be able to get onto one of today’s ferries even if we had to wait in the “stand-by” queue. How wrong we were! The ferries were extremely busy and there was no stand-by list; I suppose that we weren’t the only people who had decided to head south from Wellington instead of north due to the cyclone. We managed to book onto the 1 p.m. ferry as foot passengers and Kerry very kindly came to the ferry terminal to collect the car! But when we got to Picton (after a pleasant three hour ferry trip) we could not find any taxis or buses to our accommodation in Blenheim. We also noticed three very upset young British girls who had just been turned away from a bus to Abel Tasman because it was full. They had been waiting all day after not managing to get on the morning bus. We were able to do a good deed by helping them out with accommodation, which made me feel very happy. We then managed to contact a taxi, and ended up giving a lift to a young Austrian couple who also needed to get to Blenheim. The taxi driver was called Andrea and was very lovely, we all had a good chat.

How glad we were finally to arrive at our hotel for the next few nights, the Château Marlborough. It’s certainly not a chateau, but it is smart and comfortable. 

* Update - We have been very lucky to get here at all because the next day all of the Interislander ferries were cancelled as the bad weather moved south. 

Cyclone Gabrielle

We have been aware over the last couple of days that Cyclone Gabrielle has been heading for the north of New Zealand. It is a Level 3 cyclone, which is severe, and has been approaching from the north. It has been featured on both the New Zealand and the international news. Waiheke Island has continued to be warm, although with increasingly heavy bursts of rain as the storm approaches. This morning (Sunday 12th) I was just finishing packing ready to leave for the mainland (James and I planned to hire a car and drive south to Wellington over the next several days while Jamie and Kerry will be at work) when my phone suddenly made a loud alarm sound, that I have never heard before. I picked up my phone and there on the front screen was the following message:

Emergency Alert

Issued by Auckland Emergency Management at

2.20pm Sunday 12 February.

Cyclone Gabrielle is approaching Auckland.

This is a significant weather event.

MetService has issued a RED HEAVY RAIN WARNING for Auckland, Aotea Great Barrier and Gulf islands from 10am Sunday 12 February

to 4am Tuesday 14 February.

MetService has also issued a RED STRONG WIND WARNING for the same locations from

4pm Sunday 12 February until 9pm Tuesday 14

February.

There may be widespread damage to trees, powerlines, homes. Dangerous river conditions, significant flooding and landslips may happen.

Prepare now. Make a plan, gather emergency supplies, remove or tie down loose items and debris around your property. Avoid unnecessary travel. Evacuate to high ground if you see rising water or if you feel unsafe.

Stay informed. Listen to emergency services. If your life is in danger, call 111 immediately.

I have never seen the like! When I went back upstairs I found that everyone had received the same message and we all started discussing what to do about our journey. Our new plan was to avoid the worst of the cyclone by heading south to Wellington with Jamie and Kerry. Meanwhile Jenny calmly and serenely made us a pot of delicious tomato soup for lunch. The news websites informed us of various cancelled ferries and flights, but didn’t mention specific flights, so we decided to set off and see how far we got. Kevin gave us a lift to the ferry and off we bumped across the increasingly choppy water to Auckland. And when we got to the airport we were pleased to find that the 8 p.m. flight to Wellington was flying and on time. Jamie got us into the airport lounge using some of his passes and we were able to have a very pleasant dinner in there before our flight. And our flight flew! I think that we were the last flight out of Auckland before the storm, because the flights were all cancelled the next day. An hour and a half later we were at Jamie and Kerry’s beautiful house in Wellington where we speedily headed for bed. 

Waiheke Island

We are now on gorgeous Waiheke Island, in the beautiful home of Kerry’s parents Jenny and Kevin. The island is 45 minutes from Auckland by ferry. It is so tropical here; there are palm trees outside the window and the sound of cicadas and birds in the foliage. The house has a full wall of glass looking on to the sea, with the buildings of Auckland tiny in the distance. There is also an outdoors balcony which runs the length of the house, and as well as the huge living room there is a large dining room which can open up fully onto the garden, where there are many exotic plants and a frog pond. The way that the inside of the house is integrated with the outside is truly stunning. 

There is a path from beside the house which leads down to the beach at the sheltered bay. At high tide the beach completely disappears and its steps lead directly into the water which is wonderful. The water is quite warm which makes it very easy to get into and I have enjoyed two swims there, accompanied by Jamie, Kerry, Kevin, and lovely Luna, who is half shepherd, half collie. She has a gentle nature and loves swimming to retrieve sticks. 

When we arrived on Friday (10th) afternoon Kevin gave us a scenic car tour around the island, before Jenny showed us into the bright downstairs flat and later we had a delicious dinner with the dining room opened up to the outside. Kevin’s Aunt Pauline was also with us, and their close family friend Sarah. Paulin's husband sadly and suddenly died last week so she is going through a difficult time.

Today (Saturday 11th) we all visited two wineries (Mudbrick and Tantalus) before having a late and leisurely lunch at a third, Casita Miro. Waiheke Island is famous  for its wine and all of the wineries are situated on picturesque hillsides, mostly overlooking the sea, which is never far away on this lovely island. The lunch consisted of a variety of Spanish tapas which were absolutely top notch. We ate so much that nobody was hungry for dinner! 

Beautiful Piha

Jamie has chosen Piha as a good place to relax for our first day back in New Zealand. We headed there after collecting Kerry from her friend’s house in Auckland. The weather was beautiful and it felt very strange to be suddenly in summer time. The plants and flowers were in full bloom. We bought ice creams and walked along the beach past the Lion’s Head Rock. It really does look like a lion’s head from a certain angle. 

Our air b&b is high on the hill above the bay, with amazing views of over the verdant hillside to the sea far below. It has a gorgeous terrace complete with hammock and outdoor couches. Typically, Jamie and Kerry insisted on us having the best bedroom with a view of the sea. You can actually see the blue sea while lying in bed. Kerry made an absolutely delicious courgette risotto for dinner and we chatted on the balcony before an early night. How lovely it is to be back in New Zealand, and to see Jamie and Kerry. I got a message from Jackie who has just arrived for a week in New York with Kenneth and her beautiful boys Finn and Noah. She has been having a tough time since the New Year with changes to her treatment, and she was concerned that she wouldn't be well enough for this special holiday. However she phoned a couple of days ago to say that it's on!

Here is her message from today:

"Finally on a WiFi…. 
Got here and hotel etc all good.
Flight was great - boys loved it.
A kid in economy with autism had a meltdown an hour into flight and was attacking his parents and saying flight was going to crash. Was v sad to hear, so offered to help as flight might had to be turned round. He only spoke Hebrew so got staff iPad downloaded an app I use at work to help communication- he calmed down fell asleep and I got a bottle of champagne and captains thanks .  Bizarre start to the trip but also good to know I have the grit still to pull it out the bag when needed! Xx" 

Jackie is so great!

Waka Rererangi

A Waka Rererangi is a canoe in the sky - an aeroplane in the Maori language - according to Air New Zealand’s whimsical flight safety briefing. And so we embarked on the final 14 hour leg of our journey to Auckland. Our transfer at Houston had been just as bad as we feared; there was a huge queue at security on arrival, which used up an hour and a half of the two hours forty-five minutes between our arrival in Houston and our onward transfer. And that was departure time, not boarding time. It didn’t help that I simply couldn’t provide fingerprints as required at security. My fingertips are quite dry, so the border guard helped by giving me some hand gel. Even then I couldn’t seem to press correctly on the glass, so James kindly put his hand on top of mine to press it down. Needless to say James produced perfect fingerprints at the first attempt. We rushed to reclaim our cases, checked them back in, and then went through a different security area, which luckily was not too busy. And then we had one last dash to our departure gate. I honestly thought that we had missed our flight but we were relieved to see all of the passengers queueing at the gate as they started to board. We were both sweating like Elvis at one of his Las Vegas concerts by the time we got on to the plane. It was another Dreamliner, with the added excitement of the Skycouch, a new experience that we had booked for the first time. You have all three seats in a row, and the fronts of the seats can be lifted up to make a “couch” for sleeping on. The idea of being horizontal for the night time leg of our flight was very appealing to me, and indeed I found it to be very comfortable. I managed to get at least seven hours of sleep. Unfortunately it was not so comfortable for James, who is a longer person than me, and he ended up sitting upright for most of the journey. 

Finally we landed in Auckland and after a bit of queueing we exited the customs area to meet Jamie. It was fantastic to see him. 

Dreamliner

I noticed daffodils on the grass in the middle of a roundabout as we turned in to the airport on Tuesday morning, the first proper signs of spring that I have seen this year although I suppose that it's still a bit early. When we checked in our luggage James was not best pleased to find out that it was not checked all the way through to Auckland; we would have to collect it in Houston and then check it in again. Considering that we booked the whole journey with Air New Zealand we were surprised about this, even though the first leg of the trip is with United Airlines. I’m sure that we have had luggage checked all the way through before even if there are two carriers on a journey. 

Our plane was a Dreamliner, manufactured by Boeing. In fact James pointed out that we may have even seen it being manufactured when we visited the Boeing Factory near Seattle in 2023. Well, I have been impressed with this plane, although that is probably helped by the fact that it was less than half full so James and I ended up with a row of seats each! And special mention must go to the fancy windows which have no blinds but lighten and darken at the press off a switch! I watched the recent film “Elvis” which was very sad; Colonel Tom Parker certainly didn’t come out of it well! I also read my book and did a bit of thinking during the 10 hour journey from Heathrow to Houston. 

It’s not Rocket Science!

We are tucked into bed in the Renaissance Hotel at Heathrow Airport, ready for our journey to New Zealand tomorrow. We decided to travel from the airport to the hotel by the horribly named “Hotelhoppa” bus, which endlessly circles around all of the airport hotels and terminals. However we couldn’t find it at the busy bus area beside Terminal 2, so I asked a friendly yellow-jacketed official for advice, and he directed us to a red bus which would stop at our hotel on its way to Guildford. When it arrived I jumped on ahead of James to ascertain that it really would stop at the Renaissance Hotel. The driver assured me that it would, and I proceeded to pay using my debit card. However when I mentioned that I needed to pay for two people the driver told me that I needed to use another payment card. I didn’t understand this and kept trying to pay again with the same card, while James struggled onto the bus carrying our two large cases. “No!” roared the driver, not unkindly, “If two people go on a plane they need two passports, yes?” I agreed. “So to pay on the bus you need two payment cards!” I didn’t follow this line of reasoning at all but I obediently used a different card and hey presto it worked! On discussing it with James we thought that it must be like trying to use the same card for two people on the Underground; it wouldn’t work because each person has to tap in and then tap out again.

The bus lurched onto the dark and busy road around Heathrow while the driver remonstrated loudly with the passengers; “Move up the bus! It’s not rocket science! I don’t want to see that suitcase in the way! I’m thinking of your safety!” 

Our holiday has begun. 

Puss in Boots

Well here we are in February already and this morning I finished packing for our holiday to New Zealand. This is unusually early for me to finish packing, because we won’t be setting off until Monday afternoon, but I thought to myself that since we hadn’t put the cases away after returning from Italy I might as well get on with it. 

It has been a quick week. We saw the latest Puss in Boots film yesterday (James loves these) having initially turned up four days early by mistake - I thought I had booked for Monday but it wasn’t released until yesterday so that was the default date. The young cinema staff told us that this happens all the time but I thought there was pity in their eyes. We asked them what was on instead, and went to see The Fabelmans, an autobiographical film by Steven Spielberg which was quite good and evocative of his 1950s childhood, although perhaps a little sentimentalised. And yesterday we turned up with our original tickets to see Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. It was fine; more James’ taste than mine, but I did quite enjoy it despite dozing off at one point! I blame the comfy reclining seats; one minute I was watching the film and the next minute James woke me to say that I was snoring! I hope that no one else in the cinema could hear me - I was careful not to make eye contact with the young couple beside us when we were leaving.