Mt Ruapehu, Skiing and Snowboarding!

We spent the previous weekend up at Mt Ruapehu with the kids learning to Ski and Snowboard at the Whakapapa skifields.

Here are a couple of pics whilst I work on loading the very many that we took!




Dan and Lou......



Lots and lots more pictures to follow.....!

Ocean Beach

We decided to make a change and take the dogs to Ocean Beach instead of Bay View. The difference is that at Bay View you get a lot of driftwood (whole trees!) and the beach is black volcanic sand and small pebbles. Ocean Beach is lovely and sandy and stretches for miles! Ocean Beach is about a 40 min drive from home....

Views from the sand dunes.......Left one way and right the otherway!



Dan and Lou and the dogs.....



Has to be one of these.........



The Pacific Ocean.......... Next stop Chile!



There is an area of the beach when the tide goes out it exposes what looks like rocks. Only it's not hard it's kinda rock mud!! It has a very distinct pattern and is slippery when wet!! When the tide is out there are lots of small rock pools.



The dogs exploring and with their master! Apologies for the head gear!



A wet dog..!



A view looking back up Ocean Beach from where we'd walked from. As you can see it was a lovely day and we had to dodge the crowds!!



Back to where we started and these are Kiwi holiday homes or 'Baches' (pronounced Batch).

Where we live.......Part 2

Every morning I take the dogs out for a walk. Sometimes we pound the pavements of Taradale, other times we go tramping around the local reserves (translated to walking around local open spaces!)

These are a few pictures of where we walk and what we see on our daily walks!



What happens when it rains and we have earthquakes.... Landslips and people lose their gardens!!



We've walked past these sheep a few times.... Can't see their eyes but they can see us!


Then when we were out at the begining of this week ..... Both have had babies!



Further down from the Sheep are some cows! Chester is trying to make friends!


There is an area called Sugar Loaf Reserve, so called because of its steep sides and rounded top, is 127 metres high and is a prominent local landmark that can be seen from most parts of Napier and Taradale. Climbing to the top (I've only made it once!) gives views over towards the Ruahine and Kaweka Mountain ranges and you can just about see them with snow on. The other way is views out to Napier and Napier Hill.



Walking down from the Sugar Loaf reserve is the back of Church Road winery. Nice restaurant and wine tastings here!!



Then it's a short stroll home!

Where we live....

We live in a suburb of Napier called Taradale. I've been out and about taking a few pictures of where we live.....

So the shops. It's just one street with shops on either side. All sorts of shops, Shoe shops, Pet shop, various banks, Clothes shops, Butchers, Hairdressers, Estate Agents (last count there were 6!) various cafe's! So here's a few pictures..


The kids essential shops..! The last one is the 'British Shop'...Sells imported food stuff including walkers crips and various sweets (translated to kiwi that would be chips and lollies!)



The National Bank of New Zealand......



The church of the Golden Arches..!



And every town/suburb has to have a.....



Louise's School......



Dan's School......



Local supermarket.....

The Earth moved last night!

Another Earthquake last night at 11:25pm.....! This one was quite scary as we were asleep and didn’t get a warning….. just a loud rumble noise and the house shaking!! Haven't scrambled out of bed that fast in ages! Probably the last time was the Buncefield fuel storage explosions in Hemel!!. Checked on the kids who were awake and wide eyed! Checked on the puppies, they were over excited and took a while to calm down and go back to their bed!!

Then about 10 mins later there was a small after shock!! Measuring 3.5

This quake was a Magnitude: 5.9, at a depth of 30 km and recorded 10 km south-west of Hastings. Very close to Taradale!! It was very different to the one last Dec which was a magnitude 6.9, that one was a lot further away. Maybe due to the distance it felt gentler (if that’s possible!) and because we were up we knew it was coming as we felt the lead up to the house swaying!!

This one (5.9) was a lot closer and seemed to be a short sharp jolt! Very loud!! Nothing broken or fallen over! The earthquake drill of STOP, DROP, AND COVER was abandoned, to be honest we forgot about it.

Today’s newspaper (Hawke’s Bay Today) reported – Geological and Nuclear Science (GNS) reported the earthquake was the strongest in the country this year and unusual because it struck on land, rather than out at sea. The magnitude 6.9 quake that rocked Gisborne late last year was centered 50km offshore.

Cake in a Mug!! - Cooking Kiwi Style!

We found a recipe for 'Cake in a Mug'.... and Louise and I decided to try it out!

Step 1 - Put all the ingredients in a mug and mix well

Step 2 - Microwave for 3 mins on high!

Step 3 - Cake in a Mug is ready! Grab a spoon and eat!

At least my 'O' level in Cooking has paid off!

Puppy Pre-School...!

Louise and I have been taking Chester and Barney to Puppy pre-school on Wednesday nights. Where they have been socializing with other puppies and we’ve been learning how to care for them…..

Last night was the last day and the puppies 'graduated', the next step is Puppy obedience school.