Family watching, calm water and lots of Hector's dolphins swimming around me! It was awesome! It was very relaxing and loads of fun to be in the water with these gentle creatures. (Did not hear the theme song for Jaws in my head) Found out while reading the FAQs on the cruise tour website that the dolphins will not be around if there are sharks in the area!!! I had not even thought of that possibility until reading that comment!! I loved my birthday treat!
What a wonderful way to spend my birthday! We went on a beautiful coastal walk (Ngaio Point) that brought us to a small secluded beach. We all had fun picking seashells and rocks and just plain old exploring! The way back up was a steep climb up some stairs (over 200 for sure), I loved it!! In the afternoon we went for some New Zealand "Goldrush" ice cream that we lazily ate on the porch of the house.
The second picture was taken on our walk and it is for Bev. What you see behind me is Mt. Gibraltor! Not quite the rock but I thought of you nonetheless! We are trying to watch a little bit of the Olympics when we are up early enough because the coverage seems to be early morning here. Spending the day in the sun, trekking around with my family, a perfect birthday. Tomorrow, I celebrate again. Hey, it will be the 10th in Montreal! We've been in Akaroa/Duvauchelle for a few days now and have had a chance to venture out a bit. Yesterday we visited Akaroa, a small, quaint town with a French history about 10 km down the road. We arrived late morning and went on a little hike through the woods and visited two old cemeteries - cool for Judy & me, but a bit too creepy for the girls. We looked for any "Bisaillons" on the markers, but ended up finding a "Mckinnon" (Malcom 1803-1860) instead - don't know if he is any relation to Mom's family. Check out the sign for the "believers" cemetery and the non-Anglicans that Judy is standing beside..... We explored an historic lighthouse that dates to the early 19th century, then headed home. The home we are staying in is on a mini-organic farm, and we have been charged with looking after the watering duties while we are here. The girls are having fun helping us out, and seem like they have the farming gene in them! They also have another special duty - taking care of Fluffy. To find out more, check out their pages. Today, we visited Okain's Bay, our first experience with a beach in NZ. The weather was a bit cool, but the water, while chilly, was certainly warmer than in California. The last photo of my hands on the wheel was a "happy accident" - we wanted to capture the feel of the roads around here for our family & friends. The white knuckles were not staged for the shot - believe me! Check out the two videos that attempt to give you a feel for the climb & descent of the road to Okain's Bay. This is the view from just below the balconey of the house we are staying in this week - stunning vistas!!!!
|
ArchivesCategories |