Nature

As Jake left for work the other day we heard a big shriek - “Wendy, get out here NOW!!!” .

So I rushed out to the garden and I too stopped still in fright!

With life in Alice Springs still fresh in our minds, Jake and I had stumbled across something on the garden path which we believed to be a baby snake.

Holding the kids back, I gathered my thoughts together and reminded myself that New Zealand has no snakes. There are no snakes here. Snakes do not appear on garden paths in Wellington. It cannot be a snake.

And no. It wasn’t a snake – it was a giant worm! Like, a ridiculously giant worm, probably a good 30 to 40 cms long.

And stripey.

How I’ve managed to not see this type of creature before I don’t know, because I’ve since discovered that giant worms are not uncommon in NZ and there’s even one which lives in North Auckland that grows to 4 ft 6 inches – nearly as big as me, now there’s a good reason not to move back to Mairangi Bay!  

Wellington: Blown Away

We’re starting to get used to Wellington’s unpredictable weather now – one minute you get a stretch of sunny days and you think “ah..... I love springtime”:  you spend all day outside, apply the suncream, keep a supply of beer in the fridge, start thinking about getting out the barbeque and camping equipment, etc, etc.

Then all of a sudden, in line with our new and controversial city signage, the wind and rain start and you have a couple of days when you wonder if you dreamt it all. It’s during those times that we desperately miss Auckland, but we’ve said it before: you can’t beat Wellington on a good day!

Life at the moment is ticking along well though. Alfie’s in constant rehearsals for his first ever Christmas concert  (“I am a pohutakawa tree, la la la la la”), Molly’s in constant rehearsals for her third ever Christmas concert (“Aotearoa Christmas, celebrations in the sun, la la la”), and then Molly’s in even more rehearsals for her first ballet concert (“It’s a hard knock life for us....”). So it’s a very musical household at the moment.

Except for me – my lovely piano hasn’t been touched for weeks due to excess commitments to other stuff like wedding planning, Christmas planning, holiday planning, work planning. (Note to self: must make time to bash out a bit of Sinatra tonight after Zumba).

Meanwhile Jake’s still in training for his mountain endurance race, which the organisers have just brought forward by 8 months (bad planning!). He is now running up and down the mountains for 3 hours at a time each weekend, spurred on by the knowledge that he’ll have a support team ready when he gets home who are more than happy to supply fresh muffins and smoothies and foot massages. The novelty will wear off soon I’m sure...

A Copper Skink (we think)

After coming home from school today and eating about 3 kilos of lemon cake, Molly and Alfie found a sleeping moth on the couch and decided to make it their pet.

Of course first off a home had to be made for it. So I gave them an old Indian takeaway box which they took into the garden and filled with leaves and sticks, and then all of a sudden I realised Alfie had been bottom up on the deck for a long while staring at something.

I went to investigate and found a little lizard peeping out from between two planks on our deck.

It wasn’t very long ago at all that our desert dwelling children thought nothing of sunbathing lizards, but having not seen one for 6 months now the novelty is back on again. They proceeded to spend the best part of two hours sitting on the deck watching it and willing it to come out.

Alfie put a dish of water out, then went around the house collecting dead flies and moths and put them in a pile next to the dish.

Meanwhile, not knowing so much about lizards in NZ, I got on the phone to our handy contact at the Department of Conservation to find out more information. The comedy master himself advised me that because they are a protected species I was to call the police.

Telephone in hand, I was poised and ready to call 111 when a Skype message popped up on the computer:

ha ha ha ha ha

NO

not really.

Yeah, funny Jake.

 As he is clearly unable to advise on any native wildlife, despite working for such a prestigious Government department, I did my own research. Using his own organisation’s website. It was a Copper Skink. I think.

Mt Kau Kau

I thought it was about time I posted about Mt Kau Kau.

It’s one of our regular haunts here in Wellington – there’s a kids playpark at the base which we absolutely fully utilise to the max and there's a very lovely little cafe at the bottom too. 

When we're feeling more active, I love walking up it - I take my iPod and completely switch off from everything, which is a really lovely feeling these days (despite the occasional rather dubious track which has somehow made its way onto my playlist, eg Pants by Lenny Henry??). 

Meanwhile, Jake runs up and down it several times a week as part of his mountain endurance training something-or-other......to be honest, I’m not exactly sure what it is he’s doing. All I know is him and his friend are constantly running up and down mountains in preparation for some ultra marathon next year, and that it also involves much purchasing of sports gels, power drinks and new shoes.

It’s not actually a very high mountain. In fact we often wonder whether we should be referring to it as a hill or a mountain? (What’s the actual definition of a hill, I wonder?) Anyway, Kau Kau is just 445 metres above sea level, but it’s pretty steep and rocky and muddy so it’s quite a challenging walk/run. 

Having said that, the kids have managed the climb twice now (although Alfie’s efforts were rather pathetic and involved a lot of carrying) and when I'm on my own I can get up to the top within half an hour.

At the top you get brilliant views of the city, the harbour, the wind farm, and the numerous mountain ranges which surround Wellington. On clear days we can also see right across to snow-capped mountains in the South Island. 

Beware anyone who visits us in Wellington and is looking for a relaxing time - we WILL be taking you up Kau Kau!

Wedding Clothes

This weekend (in amongst a billion and one other things), we’ve been hunting for wedding outfits.

Buying for the bride is supposed to be the hardest bit, isn’t it? Except today we spent FOREVER looking for Jake’s trousers. Seriously. What is it with this skinny fit trend? Whoever invented it really didn’t have Jake’s best interests at heart!

Buying Molly’s outfit is going to be lots of fun, and we had a great time looking at accessories today.

Clothing for Alfie has been left as Jake’s responsibility – I did see him looking at some very cute shirts in Pumpkin Patch, but I have serious reservations about the jeans idea Jake!

As for myself, thanks to my lovely Granny back in the UK who has offered to buy my wedding dress, I tried on some completely gorgeous things today, although of course it’s all top secret so I can’t possibly post any pictures here.

Instead I’ve posted some pictures of beautiful Wellington city which I took as I was walking from shop to shop trying on dresses.......until I suddenly came across the rest of my family eating upside down ice creams on the waterfront! 

Makara Beach

Recently, Makara Beach has become one of our favourite secret places to hang out in Wellington. It’s so hidden away from the rest of the city and it feels wild and isolated and just “west coasty”.

On Sunday morning we said to the kids “What do you want to do today?” and their reply was absolutely, most definitely, Makara Beach.

So, despite Jake’s dislike of winding roads, we headed out west with big buckets (to collect stuff in), ready for some pottering around and wading in the rock pools.

There are always paua shells, pumice stones, screw shells and other pretty things to collect, and there are always water snails, barnacles and other interesting things to find in the warm rock pools.

I’m actually very pleased I have two small children because I love exploring and collecting bits and pieces but I’d never get away with doing all this stuff otherwise!

This particular visit was extra special because the weather has warmed up enough now to paddle and lie in the sun (desperately trying not to fall asleep!).