Since our China trip we have been in Thailand, Australia and New Zealand. Thailand was for Christmas and to be honest was one of the highlights of our trip (one of many I admit!). I just love the food there, I could eat it everyday, breakfast lunch and dinner. There is just something so right about curry for breakfast. Unfortunately, we had to spend the first week visiting the dentist as Marianne had to have a root canal. As it turns out if I am needing any expensive dental work done in the future I will be going to Thailand. Very high standard dentistry for very very little money. We missed home a great deal on Christmas day though, its just no the same on a beach in 30 degree heat.
Australia was a brief but very satisfying trip to see my niece Charlotte in Perth, which also turned out to be a visit to an old friend Scot and his family. Scott put us up and even drove us all round the vineyards and breweries of the area for the day! We then flew to Sydney and caught the second day of the 5th Ashes test. Its always been a dream of mine to see an Ashes game in Australia, it was all the more sweet that we were winning hands down and to see Cook score a century was something else. Also caught up with an old work friend there too. From Sydney we flew to Brisbane and met up with an old work friend of Marianne's and then an old friend of mine, Rennie, from when I was in Oz in 2000. I hadn't seen her since then and the moment we arrived she gave us a pair of pyjamas each and said, "right we're off to a pyjama party!" It was never a dull moment there then and it obviously still isn't now! From here we flew to Cairns and spent an amazing 3 days diving the Great Barrier Reef. We stayed on a boat on the reef, it was just stunning. I am very lucky to have dived the reef twice before, but this time we did it in style and all around us fish were jumping, dolphins, turtles, manta rays and other weird and wonderful things. Quite a experience. The plan was then to go back to Brisbane and see some more friends but unfortunately the floods had just happened and we were advised not to go there. Luckily Qantas were rerouting their flights for free so we flew from Brisbane to New Zealand via a quick stop in Melbourne. It was a great shame as it meant we didn't get to see a couple of people we haven't seen for a long time and will not see again for a very long time in all honesty. Did I say Australia was brief? It was so nice to see Charlotte, that was the main thing ;)
So, New Zealand, I really don't know where to start with this place. Its just the most incredible place on the planet. Having spent 6 months here before I knew what to expect, so I was excited to go with there with Marianne. It has the majesty of Nepal and its mountains, the beaches and coastline of Australia. It has multicultural cities, awesome food. Artisan industries, the air is pure, the sea if full of the worlds most beautiful creatures. The people are famously friendly and helpful and often quirky too. And NZ has easily the best Fish and Chips in the world. Oh and the pies, I must not forget the pies, just deelish. We bought a van, called it Derek, and drove around for 2 months. Mainly fishing and sight seeing and sampling the awesome cottage beer industry which has exploded since I was last here. That's the real beauty of this country. If money and material wealth does not interest you and it's lifestyle you are after then New Zealand has it to offer in abundance. Its very isolated from the world geographically but this is also its best point. The South Island for example is the size of England and there are only a million people in it, the north, has 3 million (ish). There are places in Fjordland which humans have never been. there are animals thought to be extinct which are still surviving. There is 14 thousand kilometres of walking tracks, all with huts dotted along them which you can stay in for pennies, its an outdoor wonderland which for anyone with a love of animals, ecology, outdoor pursuits, environmental living and just being close to nature then this is the place for you. While in Wellington we had lunch with Karen Rourke (now Hayward). She is doing well and was about to give birth to her second child, I believe that all went well. Our last couple of weeks were spent with our friends Bec and Calum, they took ten days off work and we spent an amazing time with them exploring the north of the North island with its awesome beaches, sand dunes, dry hot weather, amazing fishing and emptiness. We got to meet some of their family members too which was great. After 10 years in London they seem to be settling in well and Calum has hit the ground running with his cheese exploits and Bec will soon be the premier female brewer in NZ, mark my words. It was also great to catch up with a friend Neil in Auckland, a guy who I met in Indonesia in 1999 and is now living in Auckland, having a great time. Marianne and I agree, we would move to NZ tomorrow if it were not so far away. When you are there, you realise that many of the things above are not as important as family and being close enough to visit is important.
I've really only touched the tip of the iceberg with regards to NZ, like Nepal it has a very special place in our lives and we hope to go back oneday........
So, we spent a week in London/UK catching up with friends and family and now we have arrived in the big reality zone of Belgium. Its been a huge reality check and with the news that we have a baby on the way, it has focussed our minds even more on the future. The last few weeks have been tough, many doubts and second thoughts but we knew it would be hard. We tend not do things that are too easy. And we will look back on these times as ones that made us even stronger.
I will now start to blog bits and bobs about life here (which was the original point of the blog), I just wanted to get the travel updated as a few people have been asking about it and its good to have it recorded it some way. The links below will take you to public folders I have put on Facebook with all the photos of our trip, including Thailand, Oz and NZ,
Tot Ziens.
