Far too much exquisiteness...

We have just trundled home from the airport to discover that my lovely mum and dad have cleaned our house from top to toe. Lovely. The minx is lushing all over us with a purr that has similarities to the plane engines I have recently been privy to.

I am overwhelmed and utterly, zonkingly exhausted,-good thing I have more holidays to recover from my holiday. I love travelling, but this little nester is quite happy to be back in my cottage and fretting over what needs to be done in the garden tomorrow.

A couple of excellent holiday snaps are hereby included. There are 375 of them though, so I'm not sure that this state of exhaustion is conducive to the best picks of the best pics.

Strange hard-sand beach at Invercargill. No car-parks for those intrepid enough to bathe in the southern oceans, just drive right up to the water, park and swim. Expression serene, feet hypothermic. I am a truly excellet actress:-)

Poor Mr. The mountaintops teased him with snow for days, then he found a track that seemed to lead right to it...seemed to. If we'd been able to spare a half-hour he could have clambered over those rocks and achieved his NZ dream. As it was, due to utterly daffy Flight-Centre chick, we had no time at all, and I had to deal with a face as long as next week clabering back into the car. Poor fella.

Jet-boating in the Shotover Canyon. The semi-extreme sport for those of us who are 'mild' on the adventurous scale. Lots of fun, quite a bit of drenching, some muffled squeals and lots of hilarity all around. Worth it just to see the BLUE BLUE water crashing around the gorgeous canyon. Highly recommended for 1st time NZ travellers.

Speaking of BLUE.....The appropriately named 'Blue Pools' (one of the many many delights of Fjordland National Park), I wanted to jump off the viewing platform and just be in all that blue. The water temperature of 2 degrees centigrade had me a little worried though, also (and more importantly) I had left my togs in the suitcase in the car parked 3 kms away. I am dedicated to swimming in very blue pools whenever possible, but not that dedicated.
Veeeeery long walk on a veeeery hot day (hence the surly expression). Lake Moke (just out of Queenstown) has a 6km circumference. 2 of those kms basically involve clambering up mountains. All good, if the temperature stays under 20 degrees. It didn't. I have rarely been distressed by heat and exertion (mainly 'cos I studiously avoid both, especially in combination), but this day I could cheerfully have strangled the dark-skinned Jewish man I am betrothed to for dragging his corpse-like fiancee around this bleeding lake.






On the positive side there were oodles of wild red currants growing all around the lakes edges. Wild fruits make me happy. Grumble and munch, grumble and munch. Again, this genius left her togs at the motel. Brilliant. If ever one could have done with a swim in an Alpine lake.....

He hates this one. I love it. Noble nose reflected in the noble rock-faces surrounding the Franz Josef glacier. Much happier when we got here. Jackets were most definately needed as the temperature dropped to a decent 15 degrees during the day. Bliss bliss bliss.

The very last day. Two wingless Aussie fledgelings without their dear little hire-car walk the streets of Christchurch looking for dinner. Chinese restaurant closed. Supermarket next door doesn't take credit cards (Mr forgot his PIN). Hungry and sad and pondering grumbly tummies as well as nothing to do but sit in a motel for the remainder of the evening. Even the local pub didn't take credit. Long faces also excused by the knowledge that we had to be up at 4am, which meant bed by 9pm (broad friggin' daylight in NZ). I finally fell asleep at about 1am and then spent 3 hrs kicking Mr to stop him snoring.

Now, I am truly truly knackered. I have uploaded all the photos, nodded briefly to the net, and should now go and lie down before I throw up. Oh, that was a nice note to end on...