Running up that hill

Well, the good news!! Kz has a job - it's part time and she's somehow managing to earn more money than she did in England! Perfect!

I've been offered one but the offer was a bit rubbish - long story - suffice to say I politely declined - however I do have a few things on the go so I'm fully hoping I'll get something soon!

Still, we're keeping ourselves busy with interviews and ministry which is great!

I'm obviously getting far too old - can't keep up with all the socialising here - a four night weekend is killing me!! Just kidding, but it's great to have made so many great new friends so quickly.

There are a group of us currently organising to go to Rotorua for a weekend in April. They have a big triathlon event there and so about 25 of us from the cong are all going and entering as teams or individuals. Kz and I are both doing the 11km run/walk. So some serious training is in order. We have a great route worked out where we spend most of our time going down hill and on the flat (someone could have warned me how many hills there were in Auckland!) Its down by the marina, through the park and then finishing in style by running up this seriously steep set of 98 wooden stairs called Jacobs Ladder - I'm telling you now - it's a heart attack waiting to happen! It's a great short cut back from the city but lots of people use it to train - the other day I was coming back from an interview and there was a personal trainer there with some people making them run up and down them and then do push ups - so i obviously had to prove that even in a skirt it was no problem for me to just run up these steps and I was NOT going to stop half way up! I had to then keep going until I was out of sight and then collapse round the corner!!

So on Sunday evening we had a bbq for those going on the Xterra weekend - part of our training very much involves sitting round discussing how much we are going to train whilst sitting round drinking wine! Not everyone could make it but there are some pics of our erm.. training below!

Co-ordinated team t-shirts and we've not even reached Rotorua!

Intensive training!

Josh is swimming this year and Shi doing the 11km walk/run

Marcelle and KZ - two more runners/shufflers!

Running, swimming and cycling all represented here!

This weekend is a long weekend in Auckland. Slightly randomly, each different area gets to pick their own 'anniversary' weekend to have a day off but no-one co-ordinates it so depending on where you live in the country depends when you have your long weekend!

Kz and I are going to take advantage of it and hire a car to go down and see Bjorn and Kelly for the weekend in Tauranga, about 2 1/2 hours south of Auckland. The name of the car hire company is 'Rent-a-dent' - ha ha! And you wonder why it's cheap!

Four seasons in one day

So you may be secretly pleased to hear that it is actually raining here at the moment - and I mean torrential, monsoon like rain, which is actually quite odd as its still warm outside! Its been very changeable all day, from sun to rain to back again to sun, so we have been using the weather as an excuse to stay in and work on our job hunting, which has had a measure of success - Mich is at an interview as I type, and I have one tomorrow! So things are looking up...

We have been pretty busy trying to formulate some kind of routine and our days have been taken up with ministry, job applications and trying to get to know about the local culture!

We had a lovely Sunday afternoon in the park (see pics below) listening to one of the brothers from the hall play jazz in the park and have been attending multiple bbqs - it still seems weird that it is summer here and back home is so cold...

Jess, Maria, Shianne and MZ

James and Laura

One of the most fascinating experiences about local customs (for Mich at least) was discovering about faa fa'fini... apparently on some of the pacific islands if families don't have a baby girl they take the youngest boy in the family and basically raise them as a girl - so they dress him like one and treat him like one... leaving some really rather confused people... Maria has a call on one called Vicky and Mich was fascinated to go and meet him/her (apparently it was the hands that gave it away!!!)

We are also currently trying to decide whether or not to train for an 11km run in April down in Rotorua... I'm slightly concerned about the whole thing as it would involve having to work out a good running route here and there are rather a lot of VERY steep hills in the area! However we also get to run along the water, which is really rather pretty!

My other reservation is probably just laziness on my part as I am also becoming mildly addicted to Flight of the Conchords... but hopefully that will pass!

World where you live

Kia ora!

As you probably have worked out we have finally arrived in the land of the long white cloud and were pleasantly surprised to discover a distinct lack of clouds and beautiful sunshine! After the humidity and stormy weather of Brisbane this was a real relief, as I'm not sure we really could have coped pioneering in Queensland.

It was fantastic to be met by Shianne though, to successfully get through immigration and be properly granted our visas, and to experience our first flight where we didn't have a major stress about being over our baggage limit!

Josh and Shi live in the lovely area called St Marys Bay, next to Ponsonby and just a short 15 minute walk to the centre of Auckland. And just to prove it is sunny, check out the view from Shianne's office:

It was amazingly easy to set up visas and bank accounts (we had switch cards within 10 minutes, can someone please introduce this into the UK??!) so we rewarded ourselves with a little day trip to the western beaches - Muriwai and Piha. They are distinctive because they have black sand beaches, which outside of a boy band music video does seem rather odd! It also causes the sand to really heat up because it contains iron, so you really have to keep your flip-flops (sorry, jandals) on! And although Josh was disappointed not to have time to fish, we had a great time catching up!

Check out the extreme anglers on the rocks!

No Shianne hasn't shrunk, she is just standing in a dip!

Not a boyband in sight!!

We've moved into Central Auckland congregation, which is a lovely welcoming cong with nearly 200 publishers! They have 24 pioneers, although some of these are in the Spanish group which is attached. We have the circuit visit this week and so have been thrown straight into things but I think we are going to settle in well, all dependent on getting jobs though!!!

NB: now that the lovely Josh has very kindly fixed my wireless connection, I am hoping these posts will get a little more regular!!

Mr Tambourine Man

Firstly, to anyone suffering over there in the snow - we are thinking of you!!

Our last few days in Australia were spent in Brisbane with Brad & Salini, beginning with dinner at theirs on New Year's Eve. Their lovely new/old home has a great view from the decks over Brisbane city and allegedly a view of the fireworks - unfortunately in the five years since they've been away people have inconsiderately planted trees which therefore obscured much of the view!

Hayley starting the new year as she finished the last one!

What's an Aussie dinner party without a pavlova?!

The following day we went to Mount Tambourine, way up in the Queensland Hills. Randomly on the way you pass Piano Rock - originally named because it is a rock that looks like (and therefore someone has painted it!) a piano that has been thrown down the mountain!

Allegedly, there are great views but when we were there these were being slightly obscured by the clouds as the heavens decided to open as soon as we arrived! After lunch in a pub whose other claim to fame other than its views is the massive St Bernard dog, we indulged in a little bit of wine tasting before heading to the rainforest to do a little walk to Curtis Falls!

A uniquely named Australian vintage from the local vineyards!

This took slightly longer to get going than we thought it would as conveniently placed at the foot of the walk was a traditional sweet shop which involved lots of reminiscing and a lively discussion (Salini!) with the shop keeper about whether certain sweets were of Australian or New Zealand origin!

We finally headed off though, appropriately attired in our walking shoes ie flip flops, onto the muddiest walking track in the world, through the rain forest to Curtis Falls. Most of our concentration seemed to be based on staying upright and not falling face first in the mud however it was actually a pleasant walk through the forest to the falls - were they worth it?! I'll let you judge for yourselves...

Our final day in Brissy was a spent being proper tourists and catching the ferry over to Brisbane's South Bank to compare it with London! We had a lovely lunch with the most lurid coloured cocktails!, before walking back along the river and catching the ferry home.

Brisbane's answer to the South Bank - complete with fake beach!

No artificial colours at use here!

And now.....on to New Zealand....!