Thursday, January 05, 2006
Thompson family at Milford
This is our family photo taken as we are about to board the Red Boat Cruise on Milford Sound on New Year's Eve Day. Photo was taken by the lovely Fernando. We're all very excited because we're about to eat at the limitless buffet! Click on the photo to see who's who!
Monday, January 02, 2006
Latest adventures in New Zealand
After a lovely, but uneventful Christmas, it was time for our family trip down to Te Anau and Milford Sound. John and Fiona travelled down together, doing some fishing and spending the night in noisy Omarama camping ground.
I drove down with Mum and Dad a couple of days later, taking the Cave / Tekapo / Fairlie / Omarama / Cromwell route. It was a glorious day, beautifully sunny. We stopped at Mt Difficulty winery in Bannockburn, near Cromwell for lunch. Lovely spot overlooking the valley. We had a bottle of the 2005 Pinot Gris with our lunch - yummy!
In Te Anau we were staying with Angus and his girlfriend Tiana. Angus was working over at Milford Sound taking sea kayaking trips and he organised for me to accompany him on his trip on Saturday. This meant that I was picked up at 6am by the company van for the two hour trip into Milford - argh! It's a lovely road though and always a pleasure! Angus stays at 'Paddle On In', a group of ramshackle caravans by Deep Water Cove, about a kilometer away from where the big boats leaves. There were eight other people on our trip - two English, two Slovenian, two German and two Kiwis. Angus and I were in a double kayak. It was another gloriously sunny day - quite hot when we were in full sun and in shelter, but we were glad of the layers of gear when out in the wind. Gear was polypropelene shirt and long johns, a fleece, a spray skirt, a waterproof jacket and a flotation jacket - no wonder it was so bulky! But once you were in it was fine. We paddled out along the Arthur River first of all, then along the north side of the fjord, then over the south side, where a nesting gull got a bit freaked out and pooped on Angus and I. Then we went under Bowen Falls, across the fjord again, and up the Arthur River to Sandfly Point (where the Milford Track ends). Went up a very narrow river that one of the kayakers said reminded her of the New Orleans swamp tour. After coming out of there, Angus saw a Weta on my shoulder - wasn't too happy about that (they're not poisonous) so he flicked it away.
Mum, Dad and Tiana were waiting for us at the take out point and took some photos of us coming in to land. After getting changed and having something to drink, we travelled round to the cruise ships for a boat trip - thanks to Tiana and Angus's connections, we were able to get a free trip on the boat, and a buffet lunch - brilliant! I've done the trip a couple of times but it really is quite spectactular. Went all the way out to the Tasman. Amazing the number of planes taking off and touring from the airstrip at Milford - apparently if you look at plane movements, it's the busiest airport in New Zealand - up to 200 take offs a day!
That evening, New Year's Eve, we had a barbeque back in Te Anau, then checked out the fireworks on the lake at midnight - we were all pretty tired though, especially me! I was also suffering the effects of not putting enough sun screen on my face during the trip and was somewhat red of face.
New Year's Day was not very sunny and became rainier as the day went on. We went to the Fjordland Cinema to see Ata Whenua, a film about Fjordland, much of which was shot from helicopters. Truly spectacular, and like the cinema guy said, no rain and no sandflies!
After lunch at the Olive Tree Cafe, Fiona, John and I went on a trip to the Te Anau Glowworm Caves. The caves are across the other side of Lake Te Anau so there was a 30 minute boat ride. The trip into the caves involved ducking under a couple of very low rocks, getting into a couple of flat bottomed tin boats and walking along a walk way. It was great fun but very noisy due to the water rushing. Actually seeing the glowworms was spectacular - it was amazing how many would appear the more your eyes got accustomed to the dark.
Today, after breakfast at the Sandfly Cafe, we returned to Timaru - route this time was via Gore, Waihola, Dunedin (we didn't stop) and Moeraki.
I drove down with Mum and Dad a couple of days later, taking the Cave / Tekapo / Fairlie / Omarama / Cromwell route. It was a glorious day, beautifully sunny. We stopped at Mt Difficulty winery in Bannockburn, near Cromwell for lunch. Lovely spot overlooking the valley. We had a bottle of the 2005 Pinot Gris with our lunch - yummy!
In Te Anau we were staying with Angus and his girlfriend Tiana. Angus was working over at Milford Sound taking sea kayaking trips and he organised for me to accompany him on his trip on Saturday. This meant that I was picked up at 6am by the company van for the two hour trip into Milford - argh! It's a lovely road though and always a pleasure! Angus stays at 'Paddle On In', a group of ramshackle caravans by Deep Water Cove, about a kilometer away from where the big boats leaves. There were eight other people on our trip - two English, two Slovenian, two German and two Kiwis. Angus and I were in a double kayak. It was another gloriously sunny day - quite hot when we were in full sun and in shelter, but we were glad of the layers of gear when out in the wind. Gear was polypropelene shirt and long johns, a fleece, a spray skirt, a waterproof jacket and a flotation jacket - no wonder it was so bulky! But once you were in it was fine. We paddled out along the Arthur River first of all, then along the north side of the fjord, then over the south side, where a nesting gull got a bit freaked out and pooped on Angus and I. Then we went under Bowen Falls, across the fjord again, and up the Arthur River to Sandfly Point (where the Milford Track ends). Went up a very narrow river that one of the kayakers said reminded her of the New Orleans swamp tour. After coming out of there, Angus saw a Weta on my shoulder - wasn't too happy about that (they're not poisonous) so he flicked it away.
Mum, Dad and Tiana were waiting for us at the take out point and took some photos of us coming in to land. After getting changed and having something to drink, we travelled round to the cruise ships for a boat trip - thanks to Tiana and Angus's connections, we were able to get a free trip on the boat, and a buffet lunch - brilliant! I've done the trip a couple of times but it really is quite spectactular. Went all the way out to the Tasman. Amazing the number of planes taking off and touring from the airstrip at Milford - apparently if you look at plane movements, it's the busiest airport in New Zealand - up to 200 take offs a day!
That evening, New Year's Eve, we had a barbeque back in Te Anau, then checked out the fireworks on the lake at midnight - we were all pretty tired though, especially me! I was also suffering the effects of not putting enough sun screen on my face during the trip and was somewhat red of face.
New Year's Day was not very sunny and became rainier as the day went on. We went to the Fjordland Cinema to see Ata Whenua, a film about Fjordland, much of which was shot from helicopters. Truly spectacular, and like the cinema guy said, no rain and no sandflies!
After lunch at the Olive Tree Cafe, Fiona, John and I went on a trip to the Te Anau Glowworm Caves. The caves are across the other side of Lake Te Anau so there was a 30 minute boat ride. The trip into the caves involved ducking under a couple of very low rocks, getting into a couple of flat bottomed tin boats and walking along a walk way. It was great fun but very noisy due to the water rushing. Actually seeing the glowworms was spectacular - it was amazing how many would appear the more your eyes got accustomed to the dark.
Today, after breakfast at the Sandfly Cafe, we returned to Timaru - route this time was via Gore, Waihola, Dunedin (we didn't stop) and Moeraki.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Travel update
Am now in Christchurch after a couple of long flights and a stopover in Melbourne.
Left London on Saturday night, and flew to Melbourne via Singapore. Flight was good, seemed to pass very quickly even though I didn't seem to get much sleep. Had a window seat which was good for more room, but it did mean that I had to wake my neighbours up when I wanted to get to the toilet!
Arrived in Melbourne early on Monday morning local time and was met by Li-Ann and Karina. As part of the plan to keep me awake all day, we went for some breakfast. We then went back to the apartment Andrew and Li-Ann were renting, and after a catch up and a shower, we went for a walk through the Melbourne Botanic Gardens. It was a beautiful sunny day, and it was fascinating to see all the different types of birds flying around. There are also quite a few walks to do around the gardens. Went and had some lunch at the Blue Train Cafe on the South Bank - lovely situation, overlooking the Yarra River over to Flinders Station.
After lunch, Li-Ann and I wandered around town - Melbourne has lots of beautiful old shopping arcades to look around. We went to visit Li-Ann's mum who works at the Myer department store, and I bought some sunglasses and nail polish. Had a brief trip out to St Kilda on the tram before catching the train back to the apartment and out to dinner at Li-Ann's aunt's house. Managed to survive dinner (by this time I hadn't slept for about 48 hours!) with a quick snooze on the couch before heading home.
On Tuesday, we headed out to the Yarra Valley for lunch - we stopped in at the Sweetwater Cafe at Yering Station for a lovely lunch and then to St Hubert's for a tasting session. Wish we'd had more time - both places were great! We had dinner with Li-Ann's parents that night at a Chinese restaurant - we had some fantastic Peking Duck.
On Wednesday, we went out to St Kilda and after a walk along the beach and a walk along Acland St, the main shopping street in the area, we had lunch at the Stokehouse restaurant right on the beach. Great location - we were glad to be inside though because the flies were terribly annoying outside! After lunch, we drove around the Albert Park Melbourne Grand Prix circuit, which was surprisingly interesting, mainly because Andrew is such a huge fan! We also visited the Shrine, which is the memorial to the ANZAC soldiers - it was actually quite impressive and gives a great view over the city.
Had to catch my plane to Christchurch that evening - flew with Jetstar, Qantas's budget airline. I'm not that impressed at being downgraded to a budget airline, particularly as I paid over £1250 for my ticket! It was only a three hour flight, but we had to purchase food (and there was no hot food left!), there were no films (you could rent a mini DVD player for $12) and they charged me $35 because my luggage was 6 kg overweight!
Fiona met me at Christchurch airport - there was a huge crowd of people waiting for other travellers, including a bunch of drunken students, one dressed as a lobster. Very amusing.
Today (Thursday), I've been to have a Mole Map done, and been to the hairdresser. Also met some new babies when I had Lisa, Jon and Felix, Sally, Richard, Alexandre and Amelie, Aaron, Andrea, Sam and Ava, and Kelvin around for a barbeque tonight. It was great to see them all, even if they nearly all had to leave by 6pm to prepare for bed etc!
Left London on Saturday night, and flew to Melbourne via Singapore. Flight was good, seemed to pass very quickly even though I didn't seem to get much sleep. Had a window seat which was good for more room, but it did mean that I had to wake my neighbours up when I wanted to get to the toilet!
Arrived in Melbourne early on Monday morning local time and was met by Li-Ann and Karina. As part of the plan to keep me awake all day, we went for some breakfast. We then went back to the apartment Andrew and Li-Ann were renting, and after a catch up and a shower, we went for a walk through the Melbourne Botanic Gardens. It was a beautiful sunny day, and it was fascinating to see all the different types of birds flying around. There are also quite a few walks to do around the gardens. Went and had some lunch at the Blue Train Cafe on the South Bank - lovely situation, overlooking the Yarra River over to Flinders Station.
After lunch, Li-Ann and I wandered around town - Melbourne has lots of beautiful old shopping arcades to look around. We went to visit Li-Ann's mum who works at the Myer department store, and I bought some sunglasses and nail polish. Had a brief trip out to St Kilda on the tram before catching the train back to the apartment and out to dinner at Li-Ann's aunt's house. Managed to survive dinner (by this time I hadn't slept for about 48 hours!) with a quick snooze on the couch before heading home.
On Tuesday, we headed out to the Yarra Valley for lunch - we stopped in at the Sweetwater Cafe at Yering Station for a lovely lunch and then to St Hubert's for a tasting session. Wish we'd had more time - both places were great! We had dinner with Li-Ann's parents that night at a Chinese restaurant - we had some fantastic Peking Duck.
On Wednesday, we went out to St Kilda and after a walk along the beach and a walk along Acland St, the main shopping street in the area, we had lunch at the Stokehouse restaurant right on the beach. Great location - we were glad to be inside though because the flies were terribly annoying outside! After lunch, we drove around the Albert Park Melbourne Grand Prix circuit, which was surprisingly interesting, mainly because Andrew is such a huge fan! We also visited the Shrine, which is the memorial to the ANZAC soldiers - it was actually quite impressive and gives a great view over the city.
Had to catch my plane to Christchurch that evening - flew with Jetstar, Qantas's budget airline. I'm not that impressed at being downgraded to a budget airline, particularly as I paid over £1250 for my ticket! It was only a three hour flight, but we had to purchase food (and there was no hot food left!), there were no films (you could rent a mini DVD player for $12) and they charged me $35 because my luggage was 6 kg overweight!
Fiona met me at Christchurch airport - there was a huge crowd of people waiting for other travellers, including a bunch of drunken students, one dressed as a lobster. Very amusing.
Today (Thursday), I've been to have a Mole Map done, and been to the hairdresser. Also met some new babies when I had Lisa, Jon and Felix, Sally, Richard, Alexandre and Amelie, Aaron, Andrea, Sam and Ava, and Kelvin around for a barbeque tonight. It was great to see them all, even if they nearly all had to leave by 6pm to prepare for bed etc!
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Christmassy!
Loved the Campaign for a Real Office Christmas page on the Guardian blog, especially the desk, computer and chair wrapped in Christmas paper!
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
pre-Christmas dinner, London 2005
Food, food, food! Have just uploaded photos from Saturday's pre-Christmas feast at Casa Helps, and from other parties and celebrations
Friday, November 18, 2005
Mhairi and the Moose
Because you can't ever have enough photos of yourself with giant stuffed animals, here's a photo of me with a Moose in New Hampshire. I'm the one on the right.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
awesome!
Kt sent me through the brilliant Stuff on my Cat website - strangely similar to different feats of loading we used to carry out with Brussell!
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
funky little dude
The new Star Wars DVD that's just been released has an Easter Egg hidden on it. Check it out - it's brilliant! If you can, listen to the music to get the full effect.
Kt, Li-Ann, Mhairi and Melissa
Last month, Li-Ann and Andrew hosted a party at Milk & Honey, Andrew's club in Soho. The occasion was to celebrate Li-Ann's three years in London, and was a very enjoyable evening!
Loaded!
All of my USA Trip photos have now been loaded onto Flickr and are available for viewing. It's taking me a little longer to get the entries written up, but I'm getting there...
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
A whole new world...
I think I've found a new set of friends... Occasionally when I'm travelling I'll pick up a pen from a souvenir shop. On returning from this holiday (with a Boston Baked Beans pen and Gone with the Wind pen) I've done a bit of research and found out that these pens are made in Denmark by a company called Eseken and are called Floaty pens. Lots of people like them! Sadly I don't think my collection comes this woman's, but I'm going to do an audit of the pens and see what they're worth!
Fiona and Mhairi, sitting on 'Carrie's stoop', New York
Here's Fiona and I on our 'Sex and the City' bus tour on Sunday. One of the stops was at the location that they use for Carrie's apartment exterior and here's us sitting on the stoop!
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