Been doing some long awaited home improvements over the last couple of weeks. Why does everything take 3 times as long as you think it’s going to?
A word to the wise… expected the unexpected and be in for the long haul.
Sure it will look lovely when it’s finished… In the mean time just about managing to resist the urge to pull out the remains of my rapidly thinning hair and dreaming of the day when I get my life back.
You can tell it’s summer in London - festival season and lots of good stuff happening on the South Bank along the river. It’s just been Refugee Week and another great festival, “Celebrating Sanctuary” laid on courtesy of Coin Street Community Builders.
A fantastic day of great music, poetry, dance, yummy food celebrated in the great company of London’s wonderfully diverse community.
There was loads of great stuff but my favourites had to be Congolese band Kasai Masai who got everyone up and dancing to their lively pounding Soukous.
Shortly followed by Mukka with their foot stomping Romanian rythmns.
Including some awesome accordion playing by this guy:
The noisy Noisettes rocked the South Bank with some ear splitting sounds. As an ex (and not particularly accomplished) bass player myself, I have untold admiration for anyone who can sing and play the bass at the same time… If you can do it whilst looking as utterly fabulous as Shingai Shoniwa all the better!
Shortly after Jersey another work trip took me to Brisbane and Sydney Australia followed by San Francisco, with a stopover in Bangkok en route. Gruelling trip and I came down with some ‘orrible lurgy so wasn’t able to make the most of it. Also disappointing not to be able to catch up with my mate who lives in Oz as she was still in Jersey.
Managed to get a quick trip over to Manly, via a tranquil walk through the botanical gardens, and a good look around the stunning Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge.
And to mooch around the streets for a couple of hours. Came across some lovely colourful murals down a side street en route back to Kings Cross area near where we were staying.
After a couple of days in Sydney we were on the move again to San Francisco / San José. Caught up with some friends including one I made whilst in New Orleans and had a great time.
By the time we headed back home I had no idea what the time was, where I was, who I was or anything and was ready to sleep for a week.
When my mate who now lives Oz came over to visit family in Jersey I decided I’d have a long weekend over there too. In all the years I’ve known her, had never been so now was the time…
Pretty place, lots of nice beaches and weather was mostly quite good too. I was completely knackered the whole time (apparently due to the sea air) but managed to see a bit of the place. Nice drives and walks and great to spend time with me mate and meet her mum.
Off again across the pond to New Orleans on another shortish work trip. Fortunately it wasn’t all work and no play and there was a chance to see a bit of the city.
Fabulous place though parts of the city still devastated from the effects of Hurricane Katrina. Bourbon Street though noisy tacky and vibrant I still found myself gravitating towards in the evenings and had some good nights out.
True highlights of the trip were seeing the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and another great band (name escapes me but they were awesome!).
Also loads of musical talent just there for the listening out on the streets. These guys were great and attracted a big crowd.
Other highlights included, great food at a local family run Cuban place on Canal / Chartres Street (I think) on the edge of the French Quarter. Only a small place, the waitress was helpful and friendly, the food was great and very reasonable so I ended up returning several times! And strolls along the big ole Mississippi River.
Can’t quite believe I’ve been back a month already. Really don’t know where the time has gone. Memory of trip thankfully has not yet faded. Largely down to repeatedly perusing photos while organising into print and virtual albums.
On that note I’ve now got round to uploading photos from Tokyo (where I stopped over en route to New Zealand) and Hong Kong (where I stopped over en route home).
Today I spent a very nice afternoon at the Natural History Museum taking a look at the really excellent Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2007 exhibition. Loads of stunning photos by seriously talented photographers - some of them still only knee high to a grasshopper. My favourites included Ines Labunski Roberts‘ Frog refuge and George Decamp’s Flight of the yellowlegs in the Animal Behaviour category.
You’ve got to admire the skill, patience and dedication of all the entrants. It can take days of waiting in freezing cold, driving rain and all manner of inclement conditions to get “that shot”. While I was in New Zealand I discovered these were not qualities I possessed… Half an hour freezing me ass off in a bird hide was more than enough for me!
Thanks for all the virtual tea and sympathy you’ve sent to console me. I seem to have survived my first couple of weeks back including a week back at work relatively unscathed. Had a very nice welcome from my work colleagues and have been gently been easing myself back into “normal” life.
I’ve spent the long dark evenings whittling the 5k photos down to a more manageable 500 or so and and stuck em in a New Zealand 2007/08 photo gallery. So… when you have the time, grab a drink, have a seat, scroll through or fire up the slideshow and enjoy…
Well now safely back home. Hong Kong was great but I didn’t get around as much as I’d have liked as I was a bit out of sorts. After valiant attempt to get out gadding on first day had to go back to bed and sleep off the impending lurgy and jet lag.
Next day was feeling a bit better so hopped on a ferry to one of the outlying Islands, Cheung Chau for the afternoon. Lovely bustling little place with several (tiny) beaches, food outlets (including would you believe a McDonalds!).
The rest of my time in HK was spent exploring the city during the day and after dark, including visiting Causeway Bay / Times Square, Kowloon Park, the botanical gardens,
generally gazing up in awe at the towering buildings, and cruising down Kowloon’s main drag, Nathan Road, choc full of shopping opportunities and bright neon signs.
Sundays in Hong Kong seem to be a day of public protest and I came across a couple (not completely sure what they were about but one seemed to be against low pay for Indonesian women workers, and the other about something sinister enough for the participants to choose to hide their faces):
Then, finally the trip was *really* over and it was time for the longish flight home.
Very lovely to be picked up at the airport by a friend and be deposited back home. Half the week has already gone and I’m not entirely sure where (though I believe I managed to lose a complete day to sleep!).
So, back in the cold and grey but at least there’s not too much of the winter left to endure and I don’t have to go back to work til after the weekend. Meanwhile, trying to ignore the noise of the road being dug up outside my door and missing NZ already…
Still, much as I loved my trip, it is nice to be back in me own bed and catch up with friends back home again.
Well today is a very sad day for me, (but not the saddest… that comes in a couple of days time). Just returned the Goddess of Love, my home for the best part of the last couple of months. Boo hoo 
However much has happened since last post, and much could still happen. 4 days at least til I start the final leg of my journey home. Here I am in Christchurch and fortuitously, there is an international busking festival happening in town, so chances are I should be able to find stuff to keep me out of trouble.
Since last post I spent an afternoon and a night at the beautiful Totaranui. A bit of a mission to get there, 10Km + down a twisty turny, narrow and in places quite high gravel road. Weather was scorching. Spent first night of camping with few facilities but it was cool slumming it for a change.
Ended up returning to Collingwood next day as everything round Takaka was full. En route stopped off at each of the plentiful beaches between Totaranui and Takaka. Think the one below might be Tata Beach:
Collingwood was no hardship as I got to see another sunset with the Oyster Catchers, appreciate my tan, and spend the next morning on the beach again chillin’ and reading on another scorching hot day.
Then it was off to Visionz festival in Cobb Valley near Takaka. Had a fine time drinking and dancing the night away under the moon and the stars, in an amazingly beautiful setting, with great music, and good people having fun.
Was pretty trashed the next day (thank Goddess for the coffee bus) but managed to eventually get myself to Hanmer Springs for the night, and spent the next day checking it out. Whereupon I ran into a friend of a friend.
Met up with him later on in Christchurch after I’d had a bit of a look around, parked up on his driveway for my last night in the van, and had a laughter filled evening.
So it’s nearly all over but… not quite… Still got two more whole days in Christchurch then a couple of nights in Hong Kong getting used to being in a big city again before I finally touch down in the big smoke.
It’s been a great trip. Final distance tally 13,847Km / 8,604 Miles (- apparently that’s something of a record for the rental company) - and that’s just in the van! I’ve loved pretty much every Km of it and can’t wait to get back and have another adventure.
Thanks to all who’ve been along for the journey, and all me new and old Kiwi mates who’ve helped make everything run oh so smoothly.
Next post will probably be from home though I may be able to fit in the odd one from Hong Kong too.
Well I’ve been having a chilled and very lovely last few days. Whilst in Motueka went to Marahau at the start of the Abel Tasman Track a couple of times for lazy afternoons on the beach. It’s been really hot here what’s a girl to do…
Marahau…a busy NZ beach!
On my second visit to it was still really hot, so big walk out of the question (well that’s my excuse…). Instead a shortish walk to the beautiful Coquille Bay about 40 mins along the Abel Tasman Track:
Then it was time to temporarily move on from Takaka as I headed out over Takaka Hill, a long, winding road with amazing views presented itself - just like that:
Stopped off at Ngarua Caves at the top of the hill for a coffee and a most excellent and fascinating tour of the caves which were awesome and contained some remains of the now extinct Giant Moa (a flightless bird).
Forward onward then to Farewell Spit via a stop in Takaka for a smoothie in the Dangerous Cafe, lunch and a look around.
And then Pupu Springs with water so clear it has to be seen to be believed.
Eventually arrived at Farewell Spit and the Farewell Gardens camping ground where I was in time to do a walk out to the spit at sunset. Loads of birds including oyster catchers, herons, black swans and many others I couldn’t name.
Next morning went to Wharariki Beach with it’s huge sand dunes, baking hot sand, enormous rocks and crashing waves. Found a seal resting up in a cave and spent a wee while communing with it which was rather nice. It just lay there like a huge fat slug paying very little attention to me.
On to Cape Farewell for picnic lunch and a watch of yet another seal colony. Slowly made my way to Collingwood a mere 25k away. Camping ground there was great. About 10 steps from a gorgeous long beach with loads more birds and another amazing sunset.
Got chatting to Merryl who moved to NZ from Sarf London about 30 years ago and was out looking for sand crabs. Lucky bugger has a house overlooking the beach. Anyway she imparted some local knowledge which will inform my itinery for the day.
After the beach went to catch an act at the Mussel Inn. A great place that several people recommended going to. Anyway hadn’t heard of Kieran Halpin before, but he’s a pretty damn good singer/songwriter/guitarist and all round general entertainer with the good old Irish gift of the gab.
Well, another roasting hot day today so it looks like I’m just going to have to head off and find another beach, and a place to park my head for the next couple of nights.
After that will need to start to re-acclimatise to being back in the big smoke and what better way to do that than attend the Visionz music festival at the weekend. Even better that I think I may have bagged meself a freebie.
Next post may well be from Christchurch, with me no doubt feeling worse for wear…
