Noticed a bit of a wobble in the car after Christmas. Seemed to be like an egg in the tyre. Went away at certain speeds. So I took it in and had it checked. Just as well I did. One side of the tyre was over a centimetre higher than the other. Would have made quite a noise if it finally blew!

I think we scared Rebekah a little. Having shown her the volcano room in Auckland Museum, and the ruins and empty spaces from the earthquake in Christchurch, we then took her on the train towards a storm on the west coast. Two weeks later another storm came in and destroyed several sections of the west coast road we'd driven down. At least we didn't get any tornados. Don't tend to get them here. Well, not often. One hit north Auckland a few years ago, and our previous hay barn went up one about 30 years ago. Didn't tell Rebekah that.

Had a good trip down to Taupo last week, including a walk up Tongariro. OK, just the easy bit along the bottom. The clouds lifted at the end and gave us a fantastic view. The campsite was also a lot better now they've unblocked their geothermal borehole and built a new swimming pool, with bar and diving cave. Also went for a short kayaking trip and a cruise on the lake. Stopped at the Waiotapu mud pools on the way back, and got the cultural experience in at Roturua. Everyone was then happy to spend the last two days doing as little as possible!

That cyclone that hit the west coast is now right on top of us. Haven't had to water the garden much lately. At the beginning of the year, there was a four week queue for water deliveries. I think it's shrunk somewhat. Our water tank is on a contract from God. The more you use, the more it rains. We've never had to fill it up, except when that possum fell in a few years ago. Having had Nick and family here has ensured that our tank is full. Probably had enough rain for two tanks, to be honest!

Rachael had a fantastic, but very full on time at her pre-school camp. Hopefully that means she'll settle in well, which is going to make a big difference to her final year. Sarah has been on a couple of induction days, and I'm not sure if she's looking forward to the 7:30am bus. But so long as she wakes up in time and stays focussed, she's usually fine.

Having spent rather a lot touring New Zealand, we're going to need a quiet couple of months to recover before I head off to Kenya. I note there's still issues with the politics in Nairobi, but at least Qatar has gone quiet. Must bring mosquito repellant. Possibly also taxi driver and random street seller repellant as well.

---

Comments

We are sorry. New comments are not allowed after 30 days.

---