Summertime at Mt. John

Hello all. Steve here once again to report on my recent trip south to Lake Tekapo. One of my advisors (who works in Australia) was visiting NZ and also had some telescope time at the Mt. John Observatory. I went along so that we could discuss my project and also use the spectrograph attached to the 1 metre telescope.

Unfortunately the weather all week was terrible for astronomy - it was cloudy every night we were there. A couple of the afternoons were clear though, so my advisor decided to observe during the daytime. Using the telescope, the star we were after was bright enough to see against the bright blue sky (see the action shot above).

This is a view of Lake Tekapo from a hiking trail that goes around the summit of Mt. John. The tall purple flowers in the foreground were all over the mountain.

At sunset one night we were treated to this rainbow against the mountains in the background.

And on my final morning there, cloud from the Canterbury plain to the east started flowing through a notch in the mountains. It was amazing to watch - like a slow motion waterfall.

Pohutakawa season!

This is the season for the deep red blossoms on the Pohutakawa trees to bloom, and they are just as beautiful as ever. They line the streets and are perched on hillsides; some are small like bushes and other have grown into huge billowing trees. Here are a few shots of the ones around our yard...

A Karaka tree and its poisonous fruit, which eventually turn bright orange/yellow. The fruit used to be eaten, but then they discovered that the seeds are poisonous.

Another bit of colour in our yard...

Steve is at Lake Tekapo for the week, doing some work with the observatory down there at Mt. John. He's taken the camera with him, so hopefully he will post some of the pictures when he returns.

Home Sweet Home (Canada, that is)

We are back in NZ after a wonderful month of visiting with family and friends, eating the most delicious meals, and enjoying the wintery weather of Canada. Our flights home felt incredibly long due to several lengthy layovers, and we were very happy to finally arrive in Vancouver. We were there for two days - just long enough to enjoy the familiarity of home, get a Christmas tree, and visit with my grandparents. Then we were off again to Ontario.

We had several delicious holiday dinners, and were happy we could be part of the annual "turkey picture" with Grammy Inez and the cousins.

We also spent a few days in Ottawa with our friends, who had graciously let us store all our belongings in their basement for the last year. We rented a truck and moved everything to Listowel, where the Gibsons are graciously letting us store everything in their basement for the next few years!

The rest of our time in Ontario was calmer. We spent a few days sorting and "shopping" through all our belongings, having fun seeing all the long-forgotten things we had packed away, and deciding what to bring back to NZ with us.

I also got to spend nearly five days with a dear friend and her family, and Steve got to visit more with his family and friends around Listowel.

We flew back to British Columbia for Christmas, where my family got to enjoy the first Christmas together in four years, and Steve got to experience his first Hoffmann Christmas!

It was crisp and cold, but sunny and beautiful weather for most of our time in BC. For many years, my family would do a day trip over the Christmas holidays to Galiano Island, one of the Gulf Islands off the coast of Vancouver. So, re-living our old tradition, we went again this year. We walked onto the ferry and hiked to Bluff Park for a picnic lunch overlooking a stunning view of the Gulf Islands. A bald eagle sat at the top of this tree the whole time we were there.

We were fortunate to have Steve's aunt join us (she lives just across the border in Washington state), and we all had fun exploring the forests, mosses, rocks, and beaches.

After Christmas, a few of us drove to Manning Park for a day of cross-country skiing. Steve and I used to go weekly during our winters in Ottawa, so we loved this chance to be in the snow again.

Our flight back to NZ was fine - the only real frustration was in Vancouver. Our flight went via San Francisco, so the recently added security measures for US-bound flights resulted in very long waits, delays, and last-minute baggage adjustments. At one point, after sitting on the plane for nearly an hour in the Vancouver terminal, waiting to leave, Steve looked at me and said "Where are we right now?" Thankfully, it went smoother from then on, and we were even allowed to keep all our containers of yummy Maple Syrup.

Now we are back in windy Wellington, where it hasn't quite warmed up to feel like summer yet, but the days are long and flowers are in bloom. As always, it was sad saying goodbye to our families, but we have much to look forward to this year, and we hope to make the most of our time here. We are so thankful that we were able to home for the past month, to enjoy a "real" winter - where it's cold outside and cozy warm inside - and most of all, for the chance to see our families.

Christmas in Canada!

It's December! Yesterday was our last day of work before our Christmas holidays. Today we are packing our bags and cleaning the house, and tomorrow we fly to Canada for 1 month. We are so excited to be going back home to see everyone.

In the last few weeks, we have mostly just been working and sorting out furniture for the house. But one weekend we drove to the Waiohine Gorge in hopes of dark clear skies. It turned out to be exactly the opposite - cloudy, rainy, and incredibly windy! We explored the riverbed of the gorge, spent one windy night in our tent, and headed back early the next day.

The weather has finally turned somewhat summer-like and we have started to bring out the shorts and jandals (sandals). Wellington shorelines are always beautiful on sunny days:
We also decided to hire a "rug doctor" to clean our carpets. We figured it would be easiest to do while we still have very little furniture. It was very satisfying to see the dirty water and clean carpets.
We also made a trip to "Trash Palace" (a recycling centre/store) and found an old reel mower. They are also sold new and are pretty common here, but Steve hoped to fix this one up and get it working again. It is Steve's new favourite project and every week he spends some time adjusting and fixing it and then tries mowing the law. I think this week it actually cut grass!

Home on Mawson St

This past weekend we moved into a two bedroom house that we have leased for one year. The couple who own it are going traveling overseas for one year and possibly longer.

The house came unfurnished though, as many kiwi rental properties do, so we went to a big garage sale at a local church and loaded up our station wagon with as much as we could - a wooden desk, a comfy chair, two desk chairs, and some kitchen odds and ends.
I was doing night shifts all weekend, and this is what I woke up to on Sunday afternoon. Not only did Steve clean out Leonard (our free used fridge) but he also scrubbed kitchen shelves, desk drawers, and did several loads of laundry. I was so grateful for all his hard work.

Cape Palliser

Last Wednesday we shifted (aka moved) out of our housesitting accommodation and into The White House. Sadly, it's not quite as exciting as it sounds. It's a guesthouse on the grounds of Steve's workplace, and they were kind enough to let us stay there for the week before we're able to move into our new place.
It is meeting our needs for the week, but we are really looking forward to being in our own place and staying in one place for awhile. We counted up all the places we have stayed over the past year and this next house will be our 10th place! So if you've felt confused about where we've been living at any given time, you have a good excuse!
I've been fighting an unrelenting cold the last few weeks, but this past weekend was my first full weekend off and we wanted to make the most of it. We drove to Cape Palliser, which is about 2.5 hours away, near the southern coast but across the Rimutaka mountain range. The road over the Rimutakas is notoriously twisty and long; locals get frustrated with people who don’t brave the turns at high speeds, so we pull over as much as possible to let them pass by. They always say ‘thank you’ with a little ‘honk-honk’.
The weekend was quite low-key and relaxed. We stayed at a campsite near the Pinnacles, which are some impressive rock/gravel formations along a riverbed.
On Saturday morning we explored the clay and gravel riverbed and marveled at the remnants of shells embedded in the rocks.

We then drove on to see Cape Palliser, where a lighthouse is perched on a cliff and a seal colony lives on the rocks below. The seals were lazily sleeping along the roadside and as much as I would love to sit and watch them, they stink like a mixture of skunk and rotten seafood and it's tough to linger near them!
We reached the lighthouse by climbing 227 wooden steps and enjoyed our chips and chocolate snack while taking in the beautiful views.
On the way back to the Pinnacles, we stopped at a beach to watch the waves crashing...
explored the rocky shores...
paid tribute to the local Tucka stand...

and found a flat spot to make our own coffee.
By the time we got back to the Pinnacles, it was still early afternoon and we hiked along the riverbed to the base of the Pinnacles. It was definitely worth the 1.5 hour walk - the formations were very impressive up close and the weather was beautiful.
We watched a lovely sunset by the seaside that evening, and on Sunday we explored the country roads and towns. A few of the seaside towns are very small and mostly cater to people wanting to go surf fishing. There is also a large lake - Lake Wairarapa - but it is surrounded by farms and the waters are drinking/wading grounds for livestock.
Martinborough is the largest town in the area and well-known for wineries and classy cafes. It has lots of cute old buildings restored to be overpriced antique stores or cafes.
We will be moving into our new house on Saturday, and will try to post some pictures of it... but keep in mind that we will have no furnishings for it yet! We are counting down the weeks until we leave for Canada, and are very excited to spend 2 weeks in Ontario and then 2 weeks in BC.

A Belated Happy Thanksgiving

Our friends from Ottawa, Jenny and Ross, came over for our NZ version of a Thanksgiving dinner last week. There is no Thanksgiving holiday here, and I think turkeys are only available if you order ahead from a butcher. We weren't planning ahead that much, so had to make do with a little chicken instead. Thankfully, Jenny has much more culinary wisdom and experience than me, and everything turned out to be delicious!

The flowers in the middle are Columbines, which are growing next to the driveway, along with some Calla lilies and red geraniums. The colours are welcome amidst all the gray days we've had lately. October has definitely been the worst month for weather - rain, wind, hail, and cold temperatures. We are looking forward to summer!

Next week we move out of this house as the owner will return from the UK, and after spending a week in temporary accommodation, we will move into our new house on 14 Mawson St. We have signed a one-year lease there, so hopefully it will feel more like home. It comes unfurnished though, so we will be scouring "TradeMe" and second-hand shops for everything we need. The first item on our list will be a fridge!