Rick, Nicky and Claire in NZ

Take a look at the picture below, and tell me where is was taken. Those of you who live in NZ will probably find this very easy. Those of you in the rest of the world will just have to make intelligent guesses. Answers by email, as a comment, or on a postcard please. Rick

It is a Sunday evening of a long weekend - our first public holiday of the year. Tomorrow is Auckland Anniversary Day, so no work, though Claire is on duty at the museum. The weather has delivered the goods - yesterday and today have been hot and sunny, and tomorrow is forecast to be the same. We have had temperatures of 26-28C; it got to 41 in our roof space yesterday! The week has been as busy as usual with all our work commitments. I have also done some MacOnSite work as people get back into action after the holidays. Claire was looking after Shani on Thursday, and then had Katie and Tim over for games and Dr Who on Friday, which seemed to be enjoyed by all. Claire wanted to check the route to Uni so we had a trip up to the Massey campus today. This also gave Nicky chance to have a bit of a look round for the first time. The campus has a Mediterranean feel about it as all the buildings are white with columns and archers, terracotta tile roofs, courtyards and piazza's. It has a v...

Monday was Rachel's last full day in NZ. She very kindly took us out to dinner. She had been to the Museum, and Claire had been on duty there, so they picked me up from work and we drove over to Ranui to collect Nicky. We decided to go to Icon/Bar 159 at Lincoln Green as it was on the way home and we were hungry. We had a great meal sat outside in the early evening sun. A very pleasant way to end a Monday. On Tuesday Rachel went into town, and Claire took her to the airport in the afternoon for her evening flight. We were sad to see her go but very pleased that she had such a good time in NZ. Until Nicky broke a tooth eating breakfast on Thursday, it had been a quiet week. The Rail Buses had been working well, the weather had been fine and warm, and work was continuing as normal. Fortunately, Nicky was able to get a Friday lunchtime appointment and had her tooth rebuilt. The other exciting event was that Claire's student ID card arrived, so she took it out to the cinema with so...

It has been back to work for me this week. I can't say the same for Nicky and Claire as they didn't get as much time off as me. Transport has been interesting as there are no trains at the moment while some stations are rebuilt and new tracks laid. Buses have been provided as an alternative which almost run to timetable and have introduced me to parts of Auckland I haven't seen before. I have handed my notice in this week and will finish at Ubertec on Waitangi Day, February 6th. This is a public holiday so my last day will actually be the Thursday. On Wednesday we had the vicar, her mother and brother over for diner. The weather was good so we barbecued and had a very pleasant evening. We had honey and garlic steak, lamb steaks, and chicken teriyaki kebabs cooked over yet another type of charcoal which I bought to try. It was the most successful yet and not the most expensive so I will use it again. Rachel, my niece, has returned from her trip to the South Island today, so ...

2008 has been one of those years where things have got better gradually as the year has progressed. Now we are in 2009 we can no longer say that we left England last year, and we are into our second summer in NZ. I have been on holiday all week, but Nicky and Claire were working Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday, New Years Day, the weather was glorious, hot and fine and sunny. Nicky and I went to the beach at Uretiti; Claire stayed at home for some peace and quiet after the bustle of Whitcoulls. Friday was warm and wet but we had a good day at home together. On Tuesday I had met Rachel, my niece, in town on her return from her trip to the Bay of Islands. We went off to Kelly Tarlton's Antartic Encounter and Underwater World which was very good, even though it was busy. After seeing the penguins, rays and sharks we drove to Mission Bay, bought pies, and had lunch in the sun on the beach. I then took Rachel to One Tree hill for a bit of a walk, good views of Auckland, and an...