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The babymoonPosted on Friday 16 July 2010 at 07:17 - Post CommentAs T's pregnancy carries on towards it's inevitable conclusion, we were keen to get away from it all for a few days on a little babymoon. They're the new in thing for pregnant couples, didn't you know? Well neither did I till Ton started talking about Fiji or Rarotonga. I had a swift look at the finances and said that Greymouth would be more like it (google it!). It's cheap there as it's the arse of NZ (although my in-laws, twisted people that they are, seem to love it there. They even went on a summer holiday camping trip to the West Coast last year. To put this in perspective, the West Coast gets over 2m of rain a year. Yes - 2 metres! They always have been a bit touched though) however that was swiftly vetoed by the missus. A bit of pondering and we settled on a place we both love - good old Kaikoura. So I squared a few days off with work, and last Friday we headed up there for a long weekend. It was great - 4 days of rest, relaxation, hot spas, reading, playing games, walks on the beach and through the town, a spot of shopping, and a bit of one-with-nature-ness. It was just the ticket, and even the sun shone like crazy. Lovely. Oh, and I didn't cut my finger off this time either - result! View from the room:
We stopped off at a little coffee place, and got chatting to the barrista, who asked if we'd been to see the baby seals. Well we've seen seals all over the place, but apparently these were *the* baby seals, in a freshwater pool at the bottom of a waterfall. Feeling that an expedition was just the ticket we got directions and headed off. Man was it worth it! A 5 minute walk up a track revealed a whole creche of 40 odd fur seal pups, all playing around in this pool under a waterfall. It was seriously bizarre! When we arrived it was just us, and the wee pups were happy to come right up and sniff us. Amazing stuff. We got some video and pics, so here's some to share:
awwww...
sniff
I tell ya, you want seals? NZ has seals!
I could bore you with 100's of additional pics, but that'll do for now. It goes without saying that we had a great time.
The sofa saga A while ago, we decided that it had been long enough that we'd been living on $100 trade me (think ebay for non-NZers) sofa sets. In saying that, the current one was free, but those who've seen it will know that it ain't all that. In fact, it was NEVER all that, but hey - free's free right?! So, with the house refurb, and the 2 incomes, and the joyful loveliness of my wife whispering in my ear for 3 years that a new sofa is needed, we finally bit the bullet and ordered one. And not just ANY sofa! Oh no! This would be bespoke, made to our oddly shaped lounge. It would be the right size and shape, be comfy, big and above all, it would fit. We ordered, 12 weeks passed, it arrived, it was delievered, it didn't fit. And I don't mean in the room. Not at all, this bad boy didn't even fit through the front door! When we ordered it, we figured the clever types that make them would think that a 3.8 metre, 4 seater unit would be a little too much for any house, and that they'd add the extra seat onto the adjoining corner section. It appears not.
Anyway, after some angst, anger, and a bit of negotiation, our supplier has agreed to re-make it in a format that will actually fit into our house. Admittedly, they have been pretty good about this, and so another 12 week wait is do-able so long as we finally get something that fits in the door. What a drama though. Gotta love life!
Otherwise, there's plenty to look forward to, The house overall is coming on a treat with the new curtains looking ace, and the new fire earning its keep every single time we use it. Toni's mum arrives on Sunday and that will be a great day, as we've missed her and it'll be great to have her Frenchness around for the next few weeks. Oh, and the days are getting longer, with Spring not too far around the corner. Have I mentioned that I love Spring?
Yumyumbubbleblegum, as a friend of mine is wont to say.
Finally, thanks to those who express appreciation for the blog. It may not be much to you, but means a lot to us. You know who you are, you freaky cyberspace people you :)
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