Weather Forecast

We have to set our clocks ahead an hour after the All Blacks' game tonight so sunset will be an hour later tomorrow. Daylight Savings - it's everywhere. The weather has been a bit whimsical lately. There was the full moon sailing across the heavens, turning a bright pink and dropping into the sea in the same spot where the sun had gone down the evening before. A few showers, a few rainbows.........then, bright sunshine. And just to keep us on our toes, the winds kicked up.

Earlier in the week Mount Ruapehu erupted, which, while unexpected, is not all that unusual.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7013587.stm

The volcano is up in the Lake Taupo area (about 200 miles away) where we were at the beginning of the month.

http://www.taupo.ws/

It is amazing how one small island nation can crowd such diverse terrain and weather patterns into such a small area.

Up and Down

Is life just too much fun when you're young?

Notice the firm directing hand of both Nanah and the world's most athletic grandson. Hey! We know how the teeter is supposed to totter.

The world's greatest track star then ran four or five very fast laps around the box (complete with choo-choo train noises), let his mommy carry him home, and promptly took a nap. Nanah had to walk. Life is easier when you're two.

Blowin' in the Wind

My god! I've slipped off the ten-best-dressed list. Who would ever wear pink shoes with that outfit? So difficult to dress for a kite-flying outing at the beach during a nasty bout of the southerlies. And does that dress make my butt look big? Yep, and those tights make you look like an escaped munchkin from the Wizard of Oz.

OK. Enough about me.......Mark has been working with that kite for several weeks now - you know, aerodynamics and such. The tail is fashioned (get the connection?) from a disposable cleaning cloth (recycling is important in NZ) with a piece of driftwood on the end for ballast. Eureka! I think we've got it. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough string for a really exciting flight. Now, we're moving on to other kites, and a first-kite experience with the world's most hands-on grandson. I, being one for flash, wanted the airplane with the rotating propeller, but no, Mr. Conservative insisted that these modern ostentatious kites just don't hold a candle to the old-fashioned diamond-shaped kites from our youth. Weren't they paper? And didn't we spend an inordinate amount of time dragging them along the ground? Isn't Charlie Brown's still in that tree? Well, so much for fashion trends, the new kite is high-tech nylon with its own tail..........and a porpoise. Hope it doesn't drag us out to sea.

Throw Another Shrimp on the Bar-B, Mate

Well, first of all, they're prawns. Sounds exotic, but actually the little guys are rather scarey-looking. You have to literally rip their heads off before you can even start that peel-and-eat business. And they are almost always served that way......if they're available at all. Even if you buy them frozen at the supermarket, you have to throw them into the boiling water while you're looking them in the eyes, and they're waving their tentacles around. Fortunately, I've prepared shrimp fresh out of the Gulf (live) so I wasn't too intimidated. Bottom line: the ugly little devils are delicious. Hate to repeat myself, but eating in NZ really makes a person aware of how bland and tasteless we've let our food become in the US. We are the land of Wonder bread. Stay tuned for my battle with the green lip mussels!

Speaking of battles.........glad to see Michigan get back to playing football. Some of you guys must have been cheering them on. We had to listen to the game on the radio - on the internet, for Pete's sake. Not so bad really. Instead of being blinded by all that maize and blue, we got to gaze at the ocean and see the waves slowly rolling in to shore. Pretty calm today although there were plenty of kids splashing in the surf (school holidays). No wet suits either. These little Kiwis are tough! 65 degrees doesn't exactly shout "dive in" to me.

And speaking of tough.......the All Blacks play Scotland tonight. At 2:30 AM. We'll be watching the replay, but plenty of the locals will catch the broadcast in real time - if they're not actually at the game. It's a sell-out. And you thought all the action was in the Big House. OK.......or the Shoe.

Norma Views the South Island

Norma got some great shots on their safari through the south island. However, I must confess I've never seen a bad photo of New Zealand - these islands are just too picturesque. Every time you turn around, you have to suppress an ooh or an aah. It's not just mountains either. There's such a wide range of terrain, especially considering the size of the country. Unless you've been here, you can't even begin to imagine how much grazing land there is. Of course, they manage to squeeze a sheep or two hundred into the most inaccessible spots. You do know there are more sheep here than people, dontcha? Hey! We're eating them as fast as we can.

Geezers & Geysers

What brings these two guysers out on such an obviously bad weather day? Aha! Tis the secret garden near Lake Taupo with its steamy spoutings and oozing colors. I wouldn't know since I stayed under cover with a nice pot of tea and a friendly weimaraner.

That's one of the negatives of this tourist thing. You have to take the weather such as it is. When you've planned an outing, Mother Nature isn't automatically obliged to cooperate and smile on your parade. One of the positives about touring New Zealand, however, is the attention to detail at all of their venues. There's always a cafe with hot coffee and tea and fresh and attractive food choices - even if it's just muffins and sandwiches. The public toilets are always clean and pristine. Even at Te Papa (the national museum) yesterday despite the herds of school groups in attendance, the toilets were neat and tidy with not even a sheet of toilet paper littering the floor. There is almost no defacing of public property. Graffiti is rare. Maybe pride plays a part, or maybe the population is more aware of the "greenness" of their country. Wish we could bring some of that national responsibility home with us, but I don't think we could sneak it through customs.

They're Here

That long flight from A2 is just a distant memory - a little wine, fish and chips, and a lot of chocolate - what could be better? We are visiting Mission Estates vineyards and winery on a beautiful September day in Hawkes Bay. An invasion of Michiganders and Napier will never be the same. Of course, there are no grapes on the vines this time of year, but there are plenty of them in bottles.

Wally and Norma are currently on the south island climbing the mountains and swimming with the dolphins, I presume. So little time - so much to do.

Boo Hoo Blue

Hey, Ann Arbor! What's up with the wolverines, mates? Who's in charge now that we've left the country? Thank God nobody even cares about football here. It's the World Cup for rugby, and that's all we care about. It's rugby-rugby-rugby 24 hours a day. Doesn't end until 21 October. And, yes, the US lost their first match, but here in NZ we're about the All Blacks, and you're looking at the haka. What's that, you ask. Well, the Italians turned their backs on it, and the ABs spanked them 76-14.

http://nz.blogs.yahoo.com/neilreid/88/haka-snub-is-italians-decision-to-make

Maybe the wolvies should try the haka to intimidate their opponents. Meanwhile, we'll be up til all hours watching the All Blacks while you are hailing the conquering heroes. Go Blue. Might just give that haka a try next Saturday.

111

A seal swam ashore a week or so ago, and since I am constantly on the lookout for marine life on our little stretch of beach, I was hoping that the form being dragged up out of the surf was some poor disoriented sea creature in need of respite. Unfortunately, it was homo sapiens who needed assistance. He had come paragliding (I used to know how to say that in French) over the edge, turned too sharply, and hit the beach hard. Ouch.

http://www.skywings.co.nz/

http://www.paraglide.com/

Here in NZ the emergency number is 111. Did I want an ambulance? Well, I'm not sure. I do know my address and I do know his location on the beach. I didn't know the helicopter would land there. Never shut off its engine and took off into the wind like some crazy seagull. Hope the poor guy is OK. Sometimes extreme sports can just be too extreme.