WE ARE BECOMING "LOCALS"...

Monday, February 28, 2011 – Surfdale – It’s hard to believe that it is March tomorrow!!!!  Only 28 days left here so we are going to make the most of them before heading back to the good ole USA and UK!

We had a very emotional week watching the news about Christchurch and seeing pictures of so many places in the suburbs that we had stayed in or visited only 2 weeks prior.   Sometimes the pictures have been hard to look at without getting teary eyed.   The stories of survival, rescues and sadly of those dying have touched us forever.  We did not feel the earthquake or have any larger waves as a result of the Christchurch earthquakes and aftershocks.  Geoff and I both posted that we were okay on our Facebook pages since many family & friends do not know that we are 500 miles north of Christchurch and we had many inquires about out safety. 

The sadness finally got to me so we went out for the day on Thursday to take our minds off it all and go beachcombing on this island.   We took the bus to Onetangi and the beach there is normally quite different then we found it…after Cyclone Wilma left tons of horse mussel shells in piles as deep as 18 feet high, the beach was a mess.   They crushed and buried the shells recently only to have the aftermath of Cyclone Yashi stir up and deliver more horse mussel shells…not so many this time but very interesting to walk on and they are large & quite crunchy sounding!  

The day started off warm but overcast then the clouds burned off and the blue sky and sun shined through: 

We saw our first NZ “sea snake”: 

Then another bus ride to “Palm Beach”—smaller in size than Onetangi Beach but no horse mussel shells here—more people enjoying the sun and surf:  

Geoff says there is a “nude beach” just up,over & around these rocks but it wasn’t worth it for me to climb them!J 

Then we rode the bus into Oneroa and ended up at the “Sand Bar” enjoying a cold one and the views of the beach & bay from there! 

It was a lovely day on Waiheke Island!: 

We spent the rest of the week just walking our local beaches and then went to Stefanos for pizza, wine and “Mojo Risers” music Saturday night—we didn’t wander the home until nearly 1 AM—it was a fun night out.

Sunday we walked around Surfdale and Blackpool beaches up into Oneroa and stopped at “Ricky’s” to listen to the live music—The Gary Harvey duo—and they were quite good.   An added bonus was one of the lead musicians from Mojo Risers was there and played harmonica with them for a bit…doesn’t get much better than sun, surf and good music all afternoon long! 

When we got back to our street—here’s what we saw: 

It's a small world note:  while I was watching the kite/wind surfers, a young man, named Evan, from Iowa walked by and we chatted--he had just arrived from North Carolina where he is stationed at Ft. Bragg in the Army (on 30 days leave) and wanted to know what to do on Waiheke--turns out he went to West Point for 2 years and would have graduated with Jon in May "but left after two years--it's a long story".   He didn't know Jon--there were only 1,200 or so cadets that year and he was in the 1st battalion but can you believe I met someone from Jon's WP class here on Waiheke?  Too wild!  Oh and I told him how wonderful NZ is & some things to do here on Waiheke! 

Love, Sue & Geoff, xo   Waihekians now (funny how we are recognized locally already and we recognize the locals in town)!     

YES…sure IS “Paradise” to me!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011 – Oneroa  Public Library -  It’s hard to believe that we have been here on Waiheke Island for two weeks now!   Time is flying by!  I didn't get to the Library yesterday because it was drizzling all day long.   Today is blue skies and a walk along Surfdale and Blackpool Beaches to get here!

So we had a great Valentine’s Day as I outlined last Monday.   Our V-Day pic before we walked into Oneroa: 

Little Oneroa Beach was so pretty (I came back one day this week while Geoff napped and found some pretty shells):   

Geoff made me a yummy pork stir fry served up with a cute card, chocolate and Oyster Bay Pinot Noir:

I did the dessert (with a little help from Betty Crocker)—chocolate caramel muffins with Hokey Pokey (think “Pralines & Cream” @ Baskin & Robbins) ice cream served on caramel sauce (tasted pretty darn good, too!): 

So we had a nice week just hanging around the area—I’m walking the beach each day and Geoff is getting back into a jogging schedule.

We picked Friday to see the “Headland Sculpture on the Gulf Waiheke Island”—it was along a 2.5 km coastal walk and it ended yesterday (was from January 28-February 20).     It started down by the Matiatia Ferry Terminal—this is looking up from there—the path is along where the small white flags can be seen: 

The artwork ranged from interesting to clever to quizzical to downright weird!   The prices for the “sculptures” were from NZ$150 for a signed umbrella (part of an exhibit where you could borrow the umbrella to walk the trek) to NZ$170,000 for a tall stainless steel thing.  We enjoyed it all and the views along the coastal walk were breathtaking because it was a sunny,  blue sky/white cloud kind of day! 

Geoff and I got into the “artsy spirit” and shed out clothes, sat on some paint and displayed for the “Barebottomland”:

Some of my favorites, aside from “Barebottomland” were: 

“Carpet” made of woven corrugated and colored strips of iron: 

“Lookout / Pacific Radiolaria” (made from stainless steel, hand finished and  electropolished:

SOS made of 37 life buoys, rope, chains and anchors (untitled) : 

And honorable mention goes to the two cutest gnomes (one stainless steel & the other—you decide!):

And, for my dear Larisa, I had a really good, super-venti  cuppa coffee (worth NZ$8,500)—by the way—that is Auckland in the distance behind me and the coffee!:  

After several hours of enjoying the artworks  (there were 39 displays) and the views, we walked another 2 kms to Cable Bay Vineyard for lunch and some wine tasting/buying:  

 

We walked back to Oneroa (another km or so) after buying some great wine there—did a few errands and caught the bus to Surfdale to hit Guinness Happy Hour at Malone’s Irish Pub—I “pulled” my first beer ever—think I might get a job here!:   

We walked a block to Stefano’s Restaurant and had the best garlic prawn pizza and bottle of Montepulciano wine:  

     

They both (wine & pizza) were so good that we booked a table for next Saturday night when the “Fringe Festival” is on and there is a group scheduled to sing that Geoff heard last year when he was here.   Should be fun.

We managed to get home (Stefano’s is about a block away from where we stay) and Geoff watched a Cuban group music video while I fell asleep in my chair!   It was quite a day!

Saturday we went to the Ostend Market and then did our weekly grocery shopping and a bus ride back to Surfdale for a cup of coffee at “In Thyme” that is next to Malone’s.   The coffee was great and we chatted with a local couple about places to eat and go to.   Home and dinner (I bbq’d steak along with bbq’d marinated zucchini slices--for the first time—had them in Florida—to die for!), then we watched “Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” video (I saw it before but Geoff had not yet  and we want to watch the next one out).   We both enjoyed it.

Sunday—sunny and warm so washed and hung out sheets and bbq’d burgers before going to Malone’s for the Sunday night jam session—fabulous music!

This week we plan to go to another winery and check it out.   “Life is Good”—if you don’t believe me…just check out the t-shirt I wore on Friday’s art walk!   J  

  Love, Sue & Geoff xo 
P.S.  We just heard about the latest devastating earthquake in Christchurch and our hearts and prayers go to everyone affected there--hard to believe we were just there a little over 2 weeks ago viewing the damage from the last earthquakes--very sad and heartbreaking news!

WAIHEKE ISLE...IS IT PARADISE?

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2011 – HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY TO EVERYONE READING THIS BLOG - I have decided to blog once a week here on Waiheke—more if there is a reason to do so!

Weather – Sun every day even when it starts out cloudy.  Sometimes too much humidity for our taste!  Beautiful sunsets! 

Cottage – It’s a square 2 bedroom, 1 bath former small home (now a holiday cottage) 2 houses away from Surfdale beach in one direction and 2 houses Cottage is a new rental and is clean but I would do some “beachy” decorating and take a very sterile looking cottage and make it so much more!  (Just me!)

Island – It’s not big and we have walked to Little Oneroa Beach...:   

and Ostend:

Signage – Geoff always spots an appropriate sign!   (Even if the picture is crappy of you-know-who! J ) 

Geoff – Happy as a dog rolling in a pile of shite!  Pouring his own Guinness (on “Guinness Happy Hour” Malone’s Irish Pub around the corner from us—apparently it is the custom to “pull” your own): 

Sue – Who me???   Not much to say ‘cept I found another “Home of the Rams” down the street:  

Mosquitos – Or, as Geoff calls them, “Mossies”—my name is not nearly as polite.  We have many of them around here and since they don’t seem to believe in screens on their windows here (and no A/C), we purchased some screening and duct taped it to the bedroom windows to get air in there.   We also bought this gizmo that you plug into an electrical socket and it has some crap in it (made by Raid) that keeps the mosquitoes away.   We use that in the living room area until we go to bed then plug it into the socket in the bedroom—for any sneaky little bastards that make their way into the room!    Sleep has been a whole lot better since those two additions!

V-Day – He is making me some sort of “surprise dinner” tonight, a good bottle of wine and a DVD movie!  I found this cute VW tin at the Saturday Market in Ostend and put chocolate covered raisins inside it for Geoff!  (He has a real vintage VW camper back in UK!) 

Surfdale Beach – It could be called “Shelley Beach” with all the little clam type shells on it.   I noticed where there is erosion where you can see there are layers upon layers of shells in the earth!    There is a small park down by the beach and it has a children’s play area along with toilets (you won’t find me going in THEM, however!).    I do love our beach! 

WHAT’S UP NEXT - We plan to rent a car for a day and go to the very end of the island where the bus doesn’t run and see it all.   There are several vineyards within walking distance and others beyond that the bus can haul us to and from.   We will be trying out all the vineyards and investigating all the beaches!

SURFDATE ITSELF - Has a “Dairy” (convenience store), Irish Pub (Malone’s), Pizzeria, 2 places that offer “takeaways” (food you order and carry home), 2 coffee shops, a small hardware store and a diamond cutting/design business (that I have yet to see open) along with some other assorted businesses on our street.  

JUST FOR LARISA – We haven’t been to the local Surfdale coffee shops yet but the one near the grocery store in Ostend is nice—my cappuccino:

SUE BAILEY NOTE – I bbq’d hamburgers on the grill last night and Geoff said they were the best!  (I grilled the buns on it along with slabs of onion!) I haven’t lost my “touch” even if he likes to do the cooking!  J J

That’s it for our first week on Waiheke Island…time is flying but we are living it slowly and enjoying every minute!    Love, Sue & Geoff xo    Here we are in Auckland (Feb 6) with Geoff’s friends from Nelson, NZ, Mike and Heather along with the giant Auckland "rubber ducky"!:

YUP--IT'S BYE BYE TO THE SOUTH ISLAND....

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2011 – Chiristchurch Top 10 Holiday Park again!

It’s been a busy last few days before we fly back to Auckland tomorrow. 

We have spent a fair amount of time securing a place to stay on Waiheke Island and were successful yesterday and negotiated a deal for the rest of our stay in a cottage located at a place called “Surfdale Beach” on Waiheke Island.   We will spend tomorrow night in Auckland at The Jucy Hotel and then take the 35 minute ferry ride over to Waiheke Island and get the keys to the place.   It sounds perfect for the last almost 7 weeks!  Will provide pictures when we get there and settled in.

We spent time at the public library in Brighton (a Christchurch suburb) and the views at the beach were great!  Here’s the pier:

And a little "eye candy" walking in front of me:

We had a nice stay there and then on Thursday night we watched (on my laptop) the DVDs “Momma Mia” and then a British comic, Ronnie Barker, both were very good and I had seen Momma Mia on the big screen but enjoyed watching it again.   Ruby makes a good “personal screening room” with the curtains closed and the lights off!

On Friday afternoon, after arriving here, we took the city bus into downtown Christchurch to celebrate Chinese New Year (a day late here!) and have dinner at a Restaurant called “Joyful”—Geoff had eaten there before and it was very good! The sun was very bright and in our eyes!

We saw a lot of earthquake damage while riding the bus and also while walking:

These are buildings that they are repairing but we saw some (from the bus) that were total ruins.    Very sad to see old, historic buildings like that!

We saw a lot of these sort of notices posted: 

We  walked to cathedral square where there was some “crazy” guy with a personal mic set up spewing forth his thoughts about God, fornication, sins, etc…along with some Hari Kirshner’s, homeless and regular folks.  

The buildings there are beautiful ad the city is very pretty with lots of flowers in spite of all its been through with the earthquakes/aftershocks: 

And, of course, they (along with all of NZ) are counting down to being the 2011 World Cup hosts:

We went to Dux de Lux Restaurant/Pub/Brewery (we spent that afternoon in the sister place in Queenstown a few weeks ago) and tried the local stuff--Weka cider & "Blue Duc Ale": 

A bus ride back to camp and another great day!

Today we got laundry done and since Geoff got his hair cut in Brighton yesterday, I went to the mall and had mine taken care of.   Unbelievably the price ranged from $185 to $130 to the cheap one of $45 (that's NZD not USD) and that’s the one I opted for (10 foils, color and cut!)..not bad for the el cheapo-do: 

We just went and watched "SALT" (starring Angelina Jolie) here at the park's movie room--it was okay but give me something more realistic!  :)   Geoff packed all his crap in less than 20 minutes--it'll take me a LOT longer...LOL..oh well, better get at it!

Geoff talked to his friends Heather and Mike (that I met in Nelson a few weeks ago) and they are up in the Auckland area with their daughter and son-in-law so we are going to meet them all for dinner down on the "viaduct" in Auckland tomorrow night--should be fun!    That's it from the South Island of New Zealand.   More to come from the North Island...Love, Sue & Geoff xo