Tasmania In Short

Well, we are home and unpacked and back at work and Tasmania seems like a far away memory !  OK that may be a little melodramatic and the memory of Tasmania is not that far away but going back to work yesterday, sure made the end of our holiday more of a reality !!!!!

We had a great time in Tasmania.  After staying the night in Launceston and driving through town and some of the suburbs, I said to A that it reminded me of the poor cousin of Australia.  It looked quite run down, the lovely old buildings looked like they could do with lots of maintenance on them.  We could not believe the number of homes for sale - through out the whole of Tasmania - lots and lots and lots.  The only place we saw some really nice looking houses was in Hobart.

We drove a total of 3,525kms in 16 days.  Our itinerary turned out to be this :
Day 1 - Gold Coast - Melbourne - Launceston
Day 2 - Launceston - Cradle Mountain
Day 3 - Cradle Mountain - Strahan
Day 4 - Strahan (cruise on the Gordon River with a stop off at Sarah Island)
Day 5 - Strahan - Hobart
Day 6 - Hobart (Salamanca Markets)
Day 7 - Hobart (MONA and all the way through the Huon Trail to most southerly road in Australia)
Day 8 - Hobart (town and Cascade Brewery)
Day 9 - Hobart - Port Arthur
Day 10 - Port Arthur - Swansea
Day 11 - Swansea - Freycinet
Day 12 - Freycinet - Deloraine (via St Helens)
Day 13 - Deloraine - Port Sorell (via Great Lake and Bothwell)
Day 14 - Port Sorell - Cradle Mountain (via the north west coast as far as Stanley and The Nut)
Day 15 - Cradle Mountain
Day 16 - Cradle Mountain - Launceston (via Great Lake - again !)
Day 17 - Launceston
Day 18 - Launceston - Melbourne - Gold Coast

We had booked accommodation as far as Hobart and then just looked each day at how far we would get to see where we should look for accommodation.  Unfortunately, A cannot relax and do nothing so if we got as far as we planned by early afternoon, he would 'suggest' we go further !!!  We would generally find somewhere to sleep about 5-6pm, and then we would be off to see whatever we could see before we lost all light for the day !  While I loved every minute (OK - maybe not actually every single minute - but certainly most of the minutes we were away), it was very tiring to be living in and out of suitcases / hotels / driving and in and out the car going to see the sights and try not to miss out on anything that we came across.

Some of the high-lights of our time there :

Seeing the snow on Cradle Mountain (just a pity it rained, washing it all away !!)

The scenery - some of the most amazing scenery I have seen in our country and very similar to NZ (there were daffodils and crocuses all over the place)

Driving in the snow on the way from Cradle Mountain to Strahan

Standing in the snow on Mt Wellington (sadly it melted before it hit the ground)

 

The climb up to be able to look down on Wineglass Bay

Seeing the tiny little lambs frolicking in the paddocks
 

 

Seeing wombats IRL

 

 

Cataract Gorge was in full flow and looked amazing

 

 

Lunch at The Hungry Wombat - the best burger I have ever tasted (and not because I was hungry !!)
 

Salamanca Place (where they hold the markets every Saturday)

The beautiful sandstone buildings - especially in Hobart

 

Staying at Blake's Manor - so quaint

Seeing the Great Lake

 

We were absolutely amazed at how many places we went to where we had to pay for parking - I began to feel like it was a real money making racket !!!  In Campbell Town - a little town on the east coast - there were 2P parking restrictions - I bet there aren't that many people wanting to park there so why restrict the time that they can park there ?  I just didn't get it.

I will be posting a more detailed blog of our time in Tasmania and will let you know once that has been done.  In the meantime I am joining in with Jess from Essentially Jess for #IBOT.

Have the best week and take care !

TFTD : Be miserable.  Or motivate yourself.  Whatever has to be done, it's always your choice - Wayne Dyer

Things I Know

I cannot believe that it is already Friday - I think I say that just about every week !!!!  This week certainly has flown by but I think that is because TODAY I GO ON LEAVE for 3 whole weeks !!!  To say I am a little excited would be an understatement.

So, what do I know this week - 'cos it's Friday and the day I link in for TIK with the lovely Miss Cinders over at The Miss Cinders.

- I know that I feel like a little kid today.

- I know that A gets home this afternoon.

- I know that I am so looking forward to our time together as I am feeling quite dis-connected from him at the moment.

- I know that having him work away from home for 4 weeks at a time sucks bit time.

- I know that there are some amazing projects going on around the world that I want to be part of when we get back from holiday - this is one of them www.moreloveletters.com.  I have run out of addresses for people for Project Brighten Someone's Day and this is something that really appealed to me.

- I know that I would love to have more money to be able to loan more money through Kiva.  I currently have 6 loans on the go - as fund are repaid I am using that money to fund more loans.  It's amazing how people are able to use really small loans to improve their situation in life.

- I know that I love the blogging community I am part of.  My readers / commenters are so valued.

What do you know today ?
Why not link in with Miss Cinders ?

Have the best weekend - I'll be posting when I can but am not going to make any promises about how often.  Life is for living and I would rather be present with A while we are away than worrying about blogging.  I am going to try to schedule a few posts for while I'm away - hopefully they will post OK.

TFTD : You are good enough, smart enough, beautiful enough, strong enough. Believe it and stop letting insecurity run your life.

Tasmania

Before I talk about our holiday I just want to mention that I lost 4.6kg in two weeks since seeing the dietician !!! Clearly, along with the stupid medication I was taking, I was just eating too much of the 'good' food and not exercising enough.  Dare I say it really is energy in vs energy out that has made the difference.  But, as much as I was putting on 4-5kgs a week some weeks, losing it at the anticipated (dietician's anticipation not mine) 500g a week, seems like such a long, slow process to me.  I know I just have to do what I can and while we are away, that is all that I can do, because, as she has said, life is for living !  If I can stay the same while we are away, I will be happy.

Source

Well, it's getting closer and closer - A's return from Townsville AND our holiday in Tasmania !!!!  Only 3 sleeps until A is home and then another 3 sleeps until we leave.

We have booked some of our accommodation - first night in Launceston at Village Family Motor Inn which does sound a little dodgy but looks OK for one night.  They do have electric blankets which may or may not be a requirement depending on how my hot flushes are going !!!!  Then on Tuesday we drive through to Cradle Mountain and spend the night at Cradle Mountain Chateau which includes a spa bath and free breakfast (although I know there is no such thing as a free breakfast because it is actually included in the price of the room !!!) the next day.  I don't know if I want it to snow or not - I had all the right gear for snow in NZ but having put on so much weight, none of it fits so I am having to make do with what I have.  I guess at the end of the day, if I am cold, I will just have to buy something from somewhere local !!!

From there we drive through to Strahan where we are staying at Driftwood Strahan Villas  with a private patio (although it will probably be too cold to sit outside !!!) and a spa bath (clearly we were feeling very flush the night we made all these bookings !!!!) for 2 nights and going on the river cruise on the day in between.  Apparently the road from Strahan through to Hobart is very windy and very picturesque so we don't want to be driving it in the dark after having been on the cruise all day.

We get into Hobart on Friday, in time for the Salamanca markets on Saturday.  We are staying at St Ives Motel (which doesn't have a spa :( but does have free wi-fi and satellite channels) and have booked in for 4 nights at this stage.  There is so much to see and do in Hobart, or using Hobart as our base, that we haven't booked accommodation any further than this because we may land up staying another night or two.  Accommodation from here on with be on and as and when we find where we are and what is available.  Hopefully I will be able to deal with this as well as I did in NZ.  Being the queen of organisation when it comes to where I am going to sleep, I am not too keen on waking up in the morning not knowing where I am staying that night !!!

From there we are looking at driving up the east coast, probably as far as St Helens and then across to Launceston.  From there we want to take, what looks like a teeny tiny road that goes down the middle of Tasmania to Melton Mowbray, then join the 1 back up to Launceston, where, depending on how much time we have, we will spend a few days with that as our base before we leave to come home again.

And, because it's Tuesday, I'm linking in with the lovely Jess from Essentially Jess for #IBOT.

Have the best day !

If there is anyone from Tasmania or who has been to Tasmania

 and can recommend things to see or places to stay,

please would you leave a comment or mail me

 with anything that you think would be good to see.

 

TFTD : The biggest obstacle you'll ever have to overcome is your mind. If you can overcome that, you can overcome anything.

Thankful Thursday

Source

Joining in with Francesca from Francesca Writes Here for Thankful Thursday because, while things have been very up and down for me lately, when I sit down and think about it, I do have so much to be thankful for.

- I am thankful for having A home for two weeks instead of one week even if it was largely due to medical issues.

- I am thankful that I only have to get through seven more days of work before I am on leave.

- I am thankful that we are able to afford to go away on holiday.

- I am thankful that K is old enough to stay at home and look after the house and the dogs.

- I am thankful for my folks and BIL/SIL who all live close enough to us so that if anything goes wrong at the house, K is not totally alone.

- I am thankful for the sun when it comes out because it means that the rain is staying away for a while - I don't recall having such a wet winter in all the years we have been here.

- I am thankful that we have had such a mild winter.

- I am thankful for a job which, while sometimes can be a tad boring, also gives me some challenges every now and again.

- I am thankful for all the comments I received after I was bemoaning the fact that I only do 20 mins exercise a day from people who do less than that - thank you so much !!  It made me realise that I really shouldn't knock my 20 mins a day because it definitely is better than nothing !!

Have the best week e.v.e.r. !!!

What are you thankful for today ?

 

 

TFTD : Life is a pencil. Erase those memories that BIND you to sadness, and write new ones that will manifest the wonders of your existence.

Things I Know

YAY - today is Friday (just in case you weren't sure !!!) which means it is (a) time to link up with the easiest linky of the week with Miss Cinders because, as you all know, we all know sh*t and (b) this afternoon I am off to Townsville to spend the weekend with A.  Unfortunately, things are not going to well with the sites they are building and so he may land up having to spend more time working than he planned but at least I will get to spend some time with him.

I will try to get around to reading as many of the posts linked up before I go but if you don't see a comment from me, never feat, I will catch up next week.

In totally randomness, this is what I know :

- I know that I received a LOVELY surprise when I got home from work this aftenoon.  There was a package in the post box for me.  I opened it and it was a set of soy melts - sweet pea and vanilla.  It was from Ann at Help!! I'm Stuck!!.  What absolutely blew me away was the fact that it was only earlier on this week that I took two of my burners out and put them in the lounge and have been burning melts in the evenings while I have been sitting here watching TV and crocheting.  And, it was only the other night that I looked and thought to myself that I am going to have to go and buy some more melts because these two are nearly finished !  So, not only was it exactly what I needed, but, vanilla is my most favourite fragrance.  Who says that the universe (a) does not provide and (b) work in mysterious ways ???????

- I know that I am embarrassed to be Australian when I see how the politicians have been behaving and treating each other recently.  While they may not like each other or agree with their ideal's or policies, common courtesy and respect cost exactly the same as bad manners and disrespect - absolutely NOTHING - so why choose to have bad manners and be disrespectful of your fellow human beings ?  I just don't get it.  I know that it's not only politicians who treat others like this - a lot of every day Joe Smiths do as well (it's just that the politicans are more in the spot light and likely to be seen to be doing (what I call) the 'wrong' thing i.t.o. how they treat others.  It's the same with telling lies and breaking promises - I don't get why people do this.

- I know that I started a spreadsheet for keeping track of the squats that I was doing every day.  It started on Day 1 with 60 and increased by 10 every day until Day 30 when I would be doing 350 squats - a total of 6,150 squats in 30 days.  Sadly, I managed Day 1 and Day 2 - the grand total of 130, which is 130 more than I would have done, but sadly I stopped after Day 2 because my legs were so sore and I was battling to walk up and down the stairs at work.  Rhianna from A Parenting Life has sent me the spreadshee that she is using so as soon as I have a chance to look at it I will see if maybe it is a more realistic program and change over, starting next week after I get home from Townsville.

- I know that I (try to) send out a Thought For The Day most week days.  If you would like to be included in this list, let me have your e-mail address and I will include you.  I hide all addresses when I send this out so your address isn't seen by any friends you haven't met yet a.k.a. strangers.  I also do not sell your e-mail information to any marketing companies !!!

- I know (or at least I am almost 100% sure) that the doctor misdiagnosed me as having depression when she prescibed the anti-depressants.  I was suffering from anxiety - not depression.  So when I went back and said I was still suffering and she doubled the dose - it still didn't help - because these particular anti-depressants were never going to help with anxiety attacks.  It has taken me a very long time to come off them but I have been off them for about 2 weeks now and I feel f.a.n.t.a.s.t.i.c. - I can't remember how long it has been since I have felt this good.  Clearly, they were not helping me but rather making me feel worse.  I feel so much happier now that I am off them completely.  Now I am to work on what I can do about my weight because, although my outlook on life is happy, I am still really struggling to look at my body and love it.  I know that it looks like it does because of the medication but that really doesn't make it any easier to love it.  If only it wasn't this hard to do.

- I know that K and I went to see Slava's Snow Show last night and really enjoyed it.  We left home just after 5pm because we were expecting to hit traffic due to Origin being played at the same time - there was heaps of traffic up to Springwood and, at times it was a total car park, even though there was no accident or reason for it, go figure, and got up to Brisbane in time to have a bite to eat before taking our place on the balcony at the Lyric Theatre.  We both laughed heaps - it was great.  Our only regret was not getting tickets down on the ground floor as there was heaps of interaction with the audience who were down there.  But it was still very entertaining.  If you get a chance to go and see it I would strongly suggest you go.

- I know that I had asked A and K not to tell me the score of Origin if they knew what it was because I wanted to get home and watch it without knowing the end result.  But, when we got into the car, K said she had looked up the score and did I want to know - I uuhmed and aaahed for a while and then, very tentatively said, yes OK.  And she looked at me with a deadpan face and said 14-0.  Well my heart sank - I knew that this was a do or die game from Queensland and I didn't want it to be a die game.  Then she broke into the biggest grin and said "To us" !! Little bugger !!!!!  Anyway, the second half had just started and so we landed up listening to it the whole way home - screaming and shouting when things got close or when it sounded like the ref had got it wrong - as you do !!!!  She was not going to stay at home but go straight to the house where she is house sitting - but we got home and she walked into the loungeroom, let Alfie and Rosie in and turned to me and said "Do you mind if I stay tonight ?"  Of course I didn't mind so we both put our PJ"s on and settled down on the couch to watch Origin, which, by that time, we knew we had won.  I'm not so sure I would have sat down to watch it if we had lost !!!!!!

- I know that planning a holiday when you don't live together is a little difficult - no matter how many phone calls you make, there is always something you forget to check and have to make another phone call to confirm !!  But the up side now is that I have booked our flights, car hire and insurance - so just let anyone try to stop us from going !!!  We are going to Tasmania from 12th - 28th August.  Now I need to get working on finding us some accommodation ! (And, if there is anyone out there who has some suggestions to make - please feel free to let me know if there are things you would recommend we do / see / go to or places we should (or shouldn't) stay.)  Very loosely - we land in Launceston - spend the night there - drive through to Cradle Mountain for a night - through to Strahan for two nights with a cruise on the Gordon River - then down to Hobart for 4-6 nights - going to Salamanca Markets, Port Arthur, Bruny Island, then up to Freycinet for a night and up the east coast for a night - back to Launceston - then down through the middle of Tasmania to Bothwell before going back up to Launceston and home.

Thank you again to Miss Cinders for a great linky for a Friday (actually it's a great linky for any day of the week but Friday is an especially good day because that means it is nearly time for the weekend !!!)

What do you know today ?

If you know something, have you linked up ?

If you haven't, how come ?

It isn't too late to link in you know.

TFTD : As long as you're breathing it's never too late to do something meaningful. (Ain't that the truth ?)

I Must Confess ................

Today I am linking in with Kirsty from My Home Truths for I Must Confess ............. because I can !

I have had my share of hair disasters !!  I have absolutely straight hair and, for many years, I would have killed  done almost anything to have curls.  So much so I did - I had perms - home perms - enough said !!!  Then I had the peanut perm - again, enough said. (Just found a pic of me with short hair - probably one of my not so bad hair styles !!!!)

But, today I want to confess, that I do like to go away for a weekend - especially a long weekend.

Back in the good old days before we all moved to Australia, BIL and SIL and A and myself went away for a couple of weekends sans children.  We would find a place about half way between where the two families lived and meet up there.  Invariably, there would be lots of laughs, a fair amount of drinking, a small bonfire or three and a great time was had by all.

Of late A and I have been making a concerted effort to get away for a weekend every 3-4 months - to be able to reconnect and be together without the distractions of a 20yo (yes they can be very distracting at times !!!), house work that needs to be done, stuff in the garden that needs to be done and the day to day grind.

After our last weekend away (when we got stuck in Stanthorpe due to the floods), they said we should go away together again.  And so the idea was hatched.  Decisions needed to be made about whether we were going to go up the coast, down the coast or inland.  We finally settled on Lennox Head because we found a good deal for accommodation there.  We all put in for leave for Friday as Thursday was ANZAC Day and a public holiday over here.

We had such a great break. I cannot believe how quickly those 4 days went.  We talked, we laughed, we went for walks along the beach, the girls chatted, the guys chatted and sometimes we chatted with our significant other away from everyone, we ate, we laughed some more, we drank (not nearly as much as we used to !!), we watched Suns beat GWS, and SIL and I had a massage and facial special that we found at a local spa.

We ate at some amazing restaurants / cafes - and I found some really good gluten free bread at the local IGA that I think I may be able to get up here.  I had packed a heap of snacks for me so that I didn't get caught short being out and about and not having anything to eat and it worked out really well - I didn't feel like I was denying myself when everyone else was eating - it made all the difference to the weekend for me.

Yesterday we packed up and went to the Bangalow Markets on our way home and had a great wander around there.  I found a stall that sold dairy free, gluten free and sugar free goodies - it was very exciting buying one of a few things and then getting home yesterday to have a taste and see which I liked (for the record - chocolate and avo cake is to die for, chocolate and beetroot cake, not so much - I think maybe if the beetroot had been grated a little finer it would have been nicer).

We all had such a great time that it looks like this may become a twice-yearly outing for us.

Do you go on holiday / away for mini-breaks with your family ?

 

TFTD : Don't be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated.  You can't cross a chasm in two small jumps - David Lloyd George

Our Holiday in NZ - August 12

I completely forgot about posting the link here to our absolutely fantastic holiday on the south island of NZ - sorry - I know I said I would.  Then, given how long it took me to get it all loaded up (the photos were a major mission so I hope you enjoy looking at them) I had just about forgotten all about the holiday !

For an honest recap of a great holiday in NZ - pop over to here.

This was our itinerary :
Gold Coast - Christchurch
Christchurch - Fox Glacier (via Arthur's Pass)
Fox Glacier - Wanaka
Wanaka - Queenstown - Te Anaeu
Te Anaeu - Dunedin via Invercargill
Dunedin - Christchurch
Christchurch - Hanmer Springs via Akaroa
Hanmer Springs - Christchurch
Christchurch - Gold Coast

Have the best day ever !

TFTD : Family is not about blood, it's about who will hold your hand when you need it most !

Our Long Weekend in Yamba

This is an aerial shot of the resort where we stayed - Angourie Rainforest Resort (calling it a rainforest resort was a bit of a stretch but it was in a big wooded area).  The rainbow was one we saw as we were crossing a brigde on our way just outside of Yamba.  The swamp lagoon was outside our unit !

The bikes on the back of the car - ready to exercise over the weekend. 

Our balcony overlooking the lagoon.

Our unit at Angourie Rainforest Resort

When we arrived at Yamba we unpacked and then went for a drive down to the beach where I took this photo.  Someone that works with A told him about a really good Italian restaurant but couldn't remember the name - not a problem as it wasn't difficult to find.  Had a great meal there before going back and having a good sleep.


Woke up at about 6am (as you do when you are away and can sleep in !!!) - I thought A might go back to sleep but when I said I was going to go for a run he said he would cycle with me so off we went.  Out the resort and turned left for 3kms and then 3kms back - the 'hills' were unpleasant - where I run on the Coast there are no hills - no inclines - nothing - it is absolutely flat !!!  Anyway, made it back to the unit, showered and off to breakfast.  I felt really good about being able to run while we were away - for me, the key is to keep the momentum and motivation going - I am always scared that if I stop I won't start again (having said that, this is the first time I have been away and actually exercised while we have been away !!!)


After that we jumped into the car and went exploring.  Got to McLean (about 10km from Yamba !!!) and saw all the lamp posts were painted with Scottish surnames and in the relevant tartans.  Found MacLaughlin and took a pic of it (that is our family name although spelled a little differently).

For some reason A wanted to look in all the second hand / antique stores so we were in and out the car numerous times !!!!  This is not something he is normally interested in and eventually I had to ask why - he didn't know except that we could !  So I then said he have 4 more stops he could make - we laughed so much.  Went to Grafton - really not much to see and while I would LOVE to live in Yamba, I wouldn't give you thank you to live in Grafton.



We caught the ferry across the Clarence River.



Got back to the unit and tried to find the Suns/Freemantle game on the TV but it wasn't being broadcast in NSW.  K called with updates every now and again and were following them on Twitter - such an exciting game.  Got changed quickly and tried to find the local tavern to see if we could catch the game there but couldn't find it so went to the Bowls Club - still couldn't see it there so stayed and had dinner - such good value for money and great food (if you are ever in the area try to make sure you go there at least once !).

Sunday morning we woke up and had breakfast before getting on our bikes and cycling down to the ferry across to Iluka.  Arrived there and cycled about 30kms all up - went to Woody Point.

Some of the beaches at Iluka / Woody Point and sunsets at Yamba



More beaches and another sunset

Cycling around there was great although our butts really felt it as it has been ages since we have cycled - the weather was magnificent which helped as well.  Actually I got quite a nice tan on my shoulders (and of course A's face got quite red as he didn't put block out on !!!)

Sunset at Yamba



We loved having the spa bath - a great way to finish each day.  We went back to the Bowls Club for dinner it had been that good the night before.

On Monday morning we woke up, had breakfast and packed the car.  Then we drove into McLean and had a wander up and down the main street.  They had a shop called Pot Belly Pies and we couldn't resist getting pies from there.  I am not a pie person - in fact I can't remember when last I ate a pie - I really don't like them - but these looked so good.  We bought them for lunch.  Left McLean and drove home as K was at home and we thought it would be good to spend the afternoon with her.  We had the pies for lunch when we got home - thank goodness we didn't have them any earlier when we were there as I would have bought a whole heap of them and put them in the freezer for another time - they were the nicest pies I have ever had !!!!  Again, if you are ever down that way, give them a try.

We looked at property down there (we were that taken with it) but then, on the way home, we spoke about it - K wouldn't move because she is at uni, my Dad starts his radiation treatment and would need to stay here and given that we have all moved half way around the world, we really want to be able to see each other and be there in need, so it doesn't make sense to move - for now.  But, give me a couple of years, maybe we can turn this dream into a reality.

It was a great weekend away - just what we needed - time to be together and reconnect.  It has been difficult with A working away so much.  I am really glad that we went on that weekend because the following week they were called into the office to be told that the company had been bought out and the buyers didn't want their division.  So A is working today on stuff that they need to take with them when they leave on Monday.  He will be away for about a month but luckily will be home a couple of times in that month and I will go up one weekend when they are working so that we can at least have the evenings together.

Have a fantastic weekend - I am having a great time even though A and K are both working today !!!!

We're Off To See The Wizard

Milford Sound

the wonderful wizard of Oz - oopsie - wrong country !!!  We are off to New Zealand for two weeks in August.  The plans for our 25th wedding anniversary have changed somewhat !!  We were planning on going to Canada and having a white Christmas and celebrating our anniversary over there.  Then work issues happened and we couldn't do the train trip through the Rockies plus it is out of baseball season so we couldn't catch any games. 

A came up with a suggestion that we go to NZ in winter and then to Canada/USA in summer next year.  K and I shot that idea down in flames very quickly.  While he was away in Gladstone, K came to me and said "What about ....." and gave me that same scenario - I said to her - Dad suggested that you and didn't like the idea.  She said "Now I have warmed to it more - can you warm to it to ?"  And I could because I think it might be cheaper to go in summer than winter although we will then have to pay for the train trip but figure it isn't every day you get to celebrate being married for 25 years !!!!

So that is what we are doing - full steam ahead planning for two weeks in the south island - we just LOVE it over there (sorry to any people in the north island who might be reading this !!).  I am waiting to talk to the travel agent we have dealt with before tomorrow and then we can book our flights.  We booked our week in Wanaka today - a whole week for $163 for both of us. 

This is our plan so far - fly into Christchurch Thursday night.  Drive down to Wanaka on Friday.  At timeshare probably 5 maybe 6 nights.  Then drive to Invercargill (because we have never been there) - stay there over night and then drive to Dunedin the next day.  Probably spend two nights there and then take two days to drive up to Christchurch on the coastal road.  Spend a couple of nights in Christchurch and/or surrounds and then fly home in time to spend the weekend at home before going back to work.

If anyone reading this thinks that any of the above won't work - please pretty please let me know - we are used to driving big distances so that isn't an issue but I do know from the last time we were there that the distances travelled and the time taken are very different to here.

Lots of planning and googling and booking and phone calls - all very exciting !!!!!!

Here's to a fantastic break in August.

TFTD : When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt ! - Henry J Kaiser