Ann & Peter

in New Zealand

Kia Ora

Peter has completed his two day Chainsaw Training. The first part of the final day was spent inside stripping and cleaning the chainsaws to be used later on whilst the thunder and heavy rain rolled around outside. Fortunately the weather brightened considerably for the afternoon practical session. Darrel and David, the two instructors, were great, providing plenty of stories on how not to do things as well as practical tips on how to work safely. Darrel was desperate to get Peter's shiny new Chainsaw dirty, it soon was as Darrel used it first to demonstrate the various cuts. Darrel has his own fascinating website about his experiences in the forrestry industry.

Cleaning and sharpening the saws in the shearing shed whilst it rained outside.
Inspecting the practice tree.
	Darrel gets stuck in with Peter's new saw.
The end result.

	It's been raining again.
The first delivery from Jennian Homes Timber for pegging out.

The Pink Class and the teachers at Patricia Avenue - Christmas 2005

When they say they're moving house over here they mean it!

Peter went to Wellington for a week on another computer course. His hotel was just around the corner from the cinema where they were showing the premiere of King Kong. He didn't join in with the crowds watching the entertainment on the red carpet but saw Peter Jackson and co coming out of their hotel.

AT LAST!!! - Peter managed to find a decent Balti restaurant. The Balti House is run by a couple from Birmingham, unfortunately it is in Wellington but the food was superb.

Ann is finally getting used to the idea of Christmas in the 'wrong' season.

We had hoped to make progress with the house when it came time to do the 'Pegging Out' but the surveyor could not put the house where we wanted it because the council have not finalised the paperwork for the sale of the paper roads to us. If we cannot get a dispensation from one part of the council to give to another part of the council we may have to wait for another month before we can start.

On our way to Pirongia on Christmas Eve, Ann's car decided to overheat with a split radiator. We were towed by the AA to Te Awamutu where Heinz spent 5 days being repaired.

	Boxing Day was spent at the Races. The Alexandra Racing Club at Pirongia is the oldest in New Zealand, being formed in 1866. Their only event of the year is on the golf course every Boxing Day. Everyone turns up for a relaxing day, bringing their furniture and a BBQ. We even saw a Rolls Royce complete with fluffy dice

To give ourselves a bit of time off from working on the section over Christmas, we drove down to Rotorua for the day. We went to the Kiwi Encounter and saw a baby kiwi who had hatched 30 minutes earlier as well as older Kiwis. We also had a a walk round Rainbow Springs, looking at the rainbow trout, tui birds and native trees. After looking round the shops we went for a drive to Green Lake, Blue Lake and Lake Tarawera before coming home. Next time we shall have a look around the Geothermal areas.

For those of you contemplating coming to NZ for a visit, we have put together a little guide to the subtle differences you may need to look out for. You can find it here.

News from home

Following on from Clive's account of the trip to Bisley, he has sent us a couple of pictures from the club house, Bisley and the Rifle Section Christmas Dinner. We advise those with a weak constitution to look away now.

Shan sent us some photos from Mark's Graduation and a photo of Owen and Victoria

Alex and Michael have been making friends with some Alpaccas and taking a trip on the train. Michael has been training hard at Tae-Kwon-do.

Peter's Grandad sent us this card. The message inside said to look at it on Christmas Day to remind us what a proper Christmas should look like. We did look at it, but preferred our warm day in the sunshine.