Snug as a bug in a rug! 

Fancy a brew?

Had a really good night out in Howick last night. Who'd have thought this bit of suburbia could have provided such a place as the Nzellig Lounge Bar. Owned by an English bloke (see we have style...) it was a hip little urban bar, which served up some stunning cocktails - the white vodka... as Braam labelled it! The margaritas were fab... if you sipped slow enough - of course me being me went ahead and got repetitive brain freeze.

This morning I was feeling it a little... Certainly enjoyed my 4 cups of tea! Bless you Karrin for saving me with a pot of English Breakfast!

Well I should think about going to bed now as I'm up early tomorrow to catch the Kiwi Experience bus to the Bay of Islands... can't wait!!!!

I have to thank the guys at Kiwi Experiene actually for being so amazing and allowing me to start my trip so long after the original ticket was bought!!! I can well recommend them from that perspective.

Well watch this space for trip photos coming soon

Love K xxxxx

Fire and Ice

Wow! A month has passed already - I know I'm forever shocked by time, you'd think after two years of going through this I might actually appreciate how short each day/week/month etc really is!!!

In the past week the temperature has taken a huge drop and I'm kind of hoping it's only temporary... although I did buy myself a nice snug as a bug in a rug coat - see pic - therefore I'm not being too affected now.

Was sick with a fluey/cold thing this weekend, which was pretty crappy, but thankfully it seems to have cleared really quickly - I'm convinced this is partly due to the Yoga and swimming, that my immune system is healthier than ever - oh and all the good fresh foods I've been eating. Only problem now is that the clothes are becoming slightly loose and I can't afford new ones! Still won't complain that those "love handles" are shrinking - at last :)

Yeah, so I'm on a split shift from work, so have to head back soon - came in to download photos onto disc and got caught up doing this too... again... where does time go????

Righteo - oh and hopefully in the next week I'll be starting a fire staff and pois club so that I can get back on form with my fire dancing stuff!

grrrrrrreat!

ERm, yeah! Happy Birthday Ben!
That's all for now, catcha

Love Kay xxxxxxxxx

And then it suddenly got frickin' cold! 

Whilst other Aucklanders are hard at work... 

A day off!

I had the day off last Monday, so I decided to take advantage of it and head over the water to Devonport which is a pretty town, set around some old volcanoes in the Hauraki Gulf. The ferry ride, albeit fairly short, was just magic! I felt like a kid again, the wind in my hair, the salty spray in my face and seagulls flying overhead, as locals hoisted sail and drifted happily along the waters dividing Auckland CBD from this spot of tranquility.

I began my day trip with a short stop to the visitor centre, picking up the all important map and guide!!! Camera in one hand, guided walking map in the other, I set up off the main street - only to quickly abscond into the nearest pub for a Ploughman's lunch and a glass of pinotage! It's a hard life. Whilst Aucklanders sat hard at work in their city offices, I gazed over the gulf from my little piece of heaven and enjoyed the sunshine.

After lunch, it was time to work off some of those fabulous cheeses and so I decided to climb Mount Victoria, to the summit in order to get the best 360 degree panoramic view over the city and the Hauraki Islands. The mountain, once a volcano was amazing, with lots of little pockets of history dotted over it - an old war bunker, a "disappearing" gun - which was never fired (all of this in case of attack on Auckland as this was a perfect place to have a lookout post) and suprisingly, some really strange mushroom things... no idea why they were there, but they made for an interesting seat!

From Mt Victoria, I headed along the Old Town walk, taking in some of the nostalgic buildings and pathways. The township was beautiful, a great place for a weekend retreat. After perusing the shops and walking along the beach, it was time to catch the ferry back in order to catch sunset over the harbour!

Definitely a day well spent...

So this is what Douglas did with his bio-chemistry PhD... hmmmmm 

Ah dose really cranes mon? 

Approaching the dock 

Arriving back in Auckland Quay 

Harbour Bridge 

Leaving Devonport at sunset 

Over the water back to the CBD 

Typical Devonport house

Auckland Harbour Bridge 

Shoreline Devonport 

Looking to North Head from beach 

The city and Sky Tower 

Magic Mushrooms! 

Waiheke Island from Mt Victoria (Old Volcano) 

Looking over the Hauraki Gulf from Lower Mount Victoria 

Lunch out at the Patriot 

Entering Devonport Quay 

Views heading out into the Hauraki Gulf 

The city from the water 

Local boats sailing lazily 

Approaching Devonport (Mount Victoria) 

Looking back to the harbour