TRAVEL DIARY

A weblog regularly updated by Jodi Rose.

Thursday, January 01, 2004

7:50 PM
Posted by jodi rose

Golden Bay, NZ
New Year's Eve started with a 4 hour walk up the Pu-Pu Walkway, an old goldmining track - only 15 minutes of steady uphill trekking - cruisey, says Cousin Rob, yeah right!- and another half hour along these narrow wee wooden walkways along the old water races to the powerstation. It was worth all the pain at the top, with a swim in the freezing mountain stream and the kids jumping in off the rocks.
Got home, had fish and chips on the lawn and played petanque (sp?) with the fiercely competitive Alan and Paul. Ended up watching the royal comand performance, ronan keating and robbie williams concerts on telly with a selection of cousins and ma. Happpppy new year!
Just got distracted by a family discussion on wether or not I would go out to visionz dance/trance party in the morning for the last few hours - Jenny and Jane are taking their friend Jonno out for a look in the morning, but it is my last day and Robbie reminded me that we did promise the kids pancakes for breakfast. So the tarot cards and reiki sessions will have to wait until another time.
Recorded a surprise bridge today - beautiful old wood and steel cable suspension bridge over the Aorere River, which made a glorious sound when the occasional car drove over. Found it getting lost on the way to the Salisbury footbridge, which has been closed due to safety concerns, rotting posts in the walkway, and had a serious slab of wood blocking the path, saying 'Bridge closed'. That was ok, cause the cables at the end were still accessible and they had very little vibration happening, too short and not taut enough. Went swimming in a gorgeous deep pool in the Aorere, which I found out later I had swum naked under the waterfull years ago when I used to come here for christmas holidays, between 4-12 years old.
Read stories to Ollie with Karen, and am a bit sad to be leaving the farm and all the kids on saturday, although I have an open invitation to visit all over NZ and be a domestic goddess and storyteller to my second cousins.