While waiting at Wellington airport for the shuttle bus, a man heard my accent and asked where I came from He was a New Zealander and he had been to Northern Ireland a few times as his daughter was married to a Northern Irelander from Ardglass.
A small world.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
26th November - drought returns
The drought has returned to Hawkes Bay with no rain for weeks. I had noticed the paddocks and hills getting drier each Friday when I returned. The hills are slowly turning beige.
The vineyards and orchards are now being irrigated and the summer planted seed has not germinated so the farmers troubles continue here.
They reckon it will take at least 3 years for Hawkes Bay farmers to recover from the last drought which ended in June so hopefully we will get rain soon!
Our lawn has gone beige too so it will probably not be green again until after Easter. At least it saves on mowing and petrol!
The tomatoes keep growing....
The vineyards and orchards are now being irrigated and the summer planted seed has not germinated so the farmers troubles continue here.
They reckon it will take at least 3 years for Hawkes Bay farmers to recover from the last drought which ended in June so hopefully we will get rain soon!
Our lawn has gone beige too so it will probably not be green again until after Easter. At least it saves on mowing and petrol!
The tomatoes keep growing....
25th November - highland cattle
We have a herd of 4 highland cows and their calves in a paddock below our house. The calves are enjoying chasing the ducks and pukekos away from the burn.
The cows have their full length horns. I would not want to have to confront them!
I hope they stay in their paddock.
We are costing a cattle grid (called a cattle stop here) for our entrance. Hopefully we can progress that over the next few weeks. It is our next 'project'.
The cows have their full length horns. I would not want to have to confront them!
I hope they stay in their paddock.
We are costing a cattle grid (called a cattle stop here) for our entrance. Hopefully we can progress that over the next few weeks. It is our next 'project'.
25th November - school trip
J went of with his class this morning for a camping trip to the Kaweka mountain range for 2 nights. They have to sleep at least one night outdoors. A good job the daytime temperature in Hawkes Bay has been about 30 degrees for the past few days!
They do lots of team building exercises and I expect he will come home tired!
His final year exams were last week so he will get his results when he returns to school on Wednesday. They get their summer holidays on Friday, 14th December which is also school prize day.
They do lots of team building exercises and I expect he will come home tired!
His final year exams were last week so he will get his results when he returns to school on Wednesday. They get their summer holidays on Friday, 14th December which is also school prize day.
24th November - one year
We arrived in NZ one year ago about 7am on Friday 24th November.
So 24th is our anniversary day...
We have done and seen a lot in the past year....
So 24th is our anniversary day...
We have done and seen a lot in the past year....
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Monday 19th November - another Northern Irelander
On the shuttle bus in from Wellington airport this morning a man sitting behind me said about 3 words to the driver to give his destination and I recognised the accent. He was from Lurgan and had been in NZ for 24 years but still retained the strong Co. Armagh accent!!!!!
Monday, November 19, 2007
19th November - tomatoes
My tomatoes are about 2 feet tall now.... about 600 mm for the metrics.
They have survived the frosts and are starting to bear fruit.
The orchard owners are talking about 2 severe frosts this spring which have hit their prospects for this summer. It will affect the grapes too...
My tomatoes have done well!!!!!
For those in the northern hemisphere, the tomatoes have been planted outdoors.... not possible in a Northern Irelander summer until global warming really takes hold!!!!
They have survived the frosts and are starting to bear fruit.
The orchard owners are talking about 2 severe frosts this spring which have hit their prospects for this summer. It will affect the grapes too...
My tomatoes have done well!!!!!
For those in the northern hemisphere, the tomatoes have been planted outdoors.... not possible in a Northern Irelander summer until global warming really takes hold!!!!
15th November - a protest march in Wellington
The Tuhoe tribe marched round the centre of Wellington today. They are from North Eastern NZ where people were arrested as 'terrorists' about 4 weeks ago.
The front people were masked and carried clubs. They tried to look frightening. They marched down Lampton Quay and then to the Beehive - HQ of the New Zealander government.
Afterwards they marched up to the Police HQ to protest at the arrests for 'terrorism'. I happen to work in the same building and we were blocked in for about 20 minutes. They apparently let off some fireworks but we did not hear them. Then the tribe went home.
I was once blocked in an office building in Ballymoney from 4pm until about 8pm and then was only allowed out after the mayor of Ballymena negotiated that we be allowed to leave....
Not much of a march by Northern Irelander standards.... they have no stamina for protest here!!!!!
There was a cruise ship in Wellington Harbour with loads of Americans getting tours round Wellington... not a good look for New Zealand with that protest march!!!
The front people were masked and carried clubs. They tried to look frightening. They marched down Lampton Quay and then to the Beehive - HQ of the New Zealander government.
Afterwards they marched up to the Police HQ to protest at the arrests for 'terrorism'. I happen to work in the same building and we were blocked in for about 20 minutes. They apparently let off some fireworks but we did not hear them. Then the tribe went home.
I was once blocked in an office building in Ballymoney from 4pm until about 8pm and then was only allowed out after the mayor of Ballymena negotiated that we be allowed to leave....
Not much of a march by Northern Irelander standards.... they have no stamina for protest here!!!!!
There was a cruise ship in Wellington Harbour with loads of Americans getting tours round Wellington... not a good look for New Zealand with that protest march!!!
Monday, November 12, 2007
Melbourne Cup luck
The Melbourne Cup is the biggest horse race in the southern hemisphere. The office had a draw to raise funds for the staff social fund. I happened to pick Efficient which just won the Cup. So I am $25 up on the deal! Better than the Rugby World Cup. I was holding England - not that I wanted them to win!!!!!
Friday, November 09, 2007
a 'burn' or a 'creek'
A friend in Australia got in touch to suggest, I should be talking about creeks rather than burns.
I'm afraid, the stream at the bottom of our hill is a burn....
I'm afraid, the stream at the bottom of our hill is a burn....
7th November - 2 earthquakes
Experienced 2 earthquakes this morning. When the first one hit, we all sat around and discussed whether it was a 4 or a 5. They agreed it was a 5, which it was. The second one was about 90 minutes later and was a 5 too.
Starting to get used to how nonchalant everyone is about earthquakes.
Starting to get used to how nonchalant everyone is about earthquakes.
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
7th November - a year as rovers
Tomorrow (7th November) will be a year since we left Northern Ireland for out new life... lots has changed both in Northern Ireland and for us Northern Irelanders. I think we managed to cope very well having left with two suitcases each and surviving for most of the year with little else. I would not have been comfortable setting out to do that a year ago but now I would happily continue with that. Familiar possessions are good to have around but when we received our boxes in September we found it overwhelming after having been without them for so long.
Little is good.
Next time we do such a trip, the only change would be to take a laptop computer with us. It would be much easier to communicate. Although we have managed to find internet cafes everywhere we have been, composing messages is easier and cheaper offline.
Little is good.
Next time we do such a trip, the only change would be to take a laptop computer with us. It would be much easier to communicate. Although we have managed to find internet cafes everywhere we have been, composing messages is easier and cheaper offline.
November – wildlife in the burn
I should have told you earlier that we cross a stream (I call it a burn) on the way in to our property. We share a lane for about 50 yards with our neighbour. The burn crosses under that lane. In September when we moved in, the burn was part of the lake created by the July floods.
We spotted a pair of ducks with 10 ducklings in the lake in mid September and sometimes saw them from up on our deck looking down on the lake about 100 yards below. The lake has mostly dried up now and the ducks seem to have moved on.
There are no foxes in New Zealand so the ducklings will likely have survived. Is it not amazing for 10 duck eggs to hatch out from one nest?
There are heron which appear sometimes on the banks of the burn.
There are also plenty of pukekos which come out in wet weather. The pukeko is a New Zealand swamp bird unlike any bird in the British Isles. Google ‘pukeko’ to learn more.
Lately we have heard frogs croaking by the burn. J heard them first one evening in early October but they can be heard at any time of day now.
We spotted a pair of ducks with 10 ducklings in the lake in mid September and sometimes saw them from up on our deck looking down on the lake about 100 yards below. The lake has mostly dried up now and the ducks seem to have moved on.
There are no foxes in New Zealand so the ducklings will likely have survived. Is it not amazing for 10 duck eggs to hatch out from one nest?
There are heron which appear sometimes on the banks of the burn.
There are also plenty of pukekos which come out in wet weather. The pukeko is a New Zealand swamp bird unlike any bird in the British Isles. Google ‘pukeko’ to learn more.
Lately we have heard frogs croaking by the burn. J heard them first one evening in early October but they can be heard at any time of day now.
5th November – fireworks night
Fireworks are on sale in NZ for only 4 days, 2nd to 5th November.
New Zealanders celebrate Guy Fawkes night with fireworks too!
We went to the Napier beach at the weekend to see the public display. There were lots of private fireworks too. Families light bonfires on the beach and set off their own fireworks. There were about 100 bonfires stretching for about a mile along the beach….
....very medieval looking!!!!!
New Zealanders celebrate Guy Fawkes night with fireworks too!
We went to the Napier beach at the weekend to see the public display. There were lots of private fireworks too. Families light bonfires on the beach and set off their own fireworks. There were about 100 bonfires stretching for about a mile along the beach….
....very medieval looking!!!!!
5th November – a warmer morning
When we left to go to the airport this morning at 6am, the temperature in the car displayed at 22 degrees – that’s 20 degrees more than last Monday!!!!
An amazing change in one week!!!!
No helicopters up and not even any dew!!!!
I think my tomatoes will be safe now. They are about 18 inches tall and starting to flower.
An amazing change in one week!!!!
No helicopters up and not even any dew!!!!
I think my tomatoes will be safe now. They are about 18 inches tall and starting to flower.
3rd November – a sporting week
In the last week, J has:
- Played tennis 5 times
- Played 9 holes of golf
- Played cricket twice
- Been at the local archery club with his friends
- Gone kayaking with a friend….
…. And been at school 5 days….
3rd November - a year on the road....
It's a year today since we left Connor Road, Parkgate....
a lot has changed....
a lot has changed....
2nd November – meeting a neighbour
When we were in Hawkes Bay in January, I broke a tooth and had to get an emergency appointment with a dentist. That was not easy to arrange as most dentists went on holiday at the same time. Anyway, I eventually found a dentist and he fixed my tooth. He turned out to be Scottish and had spent some of his youth in Bangor, Northern Ireland.
His office wrote to me a couple of weeks ago to arrange an appointment for a check-up. I phoned on Friday to cancel the appointment as I am away in Wellington most weekdays and spoke to his wife, who comes from Edinburgh. When I told her our new address, I discovered that they were neighbours living along our road!!!!
His office wrote to me a couple of weeks ago to arrange an appointment for a check-up. I phoned on Friday to cancel the appointment as I am away in Wellington most weekdays and spoke to his wife, who comes from Edinburgh. When I told her our new address, I discovered that they were neighbours living along our road!!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)