New Years Day! the beginning of 2003

JP and Louise were off to catch the ferry down to the south island on Friday so had to start making a move. We said our goodbyes and wished them well and then we packed up and drove up to Cape Reinga on the Northern most tip on NZ. It took about a 2hr drive mostly on gravel track to get to the most breathtaking part of the world. We were surrounded by Aqua Sea and green fields on a bed of endless sandy beaches topped off nicely with a cloudless blue sky. I took loads of wonderful pictures and then headed off to find a campsite for the night. We went back to Paihia to another little site which turned out to be full so went back to the one we had been in for a few nights which also turned out to be full. Toby said we should drive all the way back to Katikati but i thought it would just be too long a drive, nevertheless Toby drove all the way home after stopping for a quick burger, we didn't get home until midnight, so all in all we had been on the road for 13 hrs!

Slept like baby...... clean bed sheets always make for a good nights sleep. The only thing was i slept so deeply i felt like shit all morning like i had been drugged or something. It took most of the day to clear up all the mess we had dragged in from the car because we kept sitting down all the time feeling exhausted. We did all the washing and i put on a curry for dinner and then we just vegged out for the rest of the day - bliss.

I had been asked by my Yoga lady to feed her cat and 2 kittens whilst she was away for 10 days so of course i agreed! So after b'fast i hurried down to her house and spent ages feeding and playing with the the little blighters - so cute. I then cycled down to the pool and spent a fab hour doing the best swimming yet! it seems i can now do oodles of laps without stopping, about bloody time though..

I rushed back home and had a shower then we drove into Tauranga to watch 'The Two Towers' which was bloody brilliant, can't wait for the next one. We then went to 'Pak 'n' Save' for our weekly shop, Toby was showing off though because he does it every week. I kept losing him and he was just whizzing around in double speed chucking everything in.

It was another case of sitting in front of the TV watching Ace Ventura (2nd one) not finding the film funny just very annoying, i really must be getting boring?

Woke up with the most disgusting blisters all over my mouth, i burnt my lips whilst sitting all day in the sun NYE and they have now turned into Cold sores - how attractive....

Went swimming with Mr Jones in the morning and did quite a few laps again without stopping. Went to visit Lesley in the afternoon and see her new kitten 'Santy' a Persian fluff ball, the sweetest dearest looking thing - i want one

I had a very troubled night due to the amount of mosquito's we had in the bedroom. I must have got up 4 times to run naked around the bedroom with Toby's new 1000 volt bat trying to zap them all. Toby did manage to sleep through most of the sessions even with the light on and me going berserk...

We decided to go out for a bit of a trek so packed up our little day packs with rain Macs and drink etc and set off for the woods 15mins down the road. When we got there though we found it was only a picnic and rest area, it did have a little stroll next to the river which took us about 4mins to do. It was a then a joint decision to go to the pancake house just up the road for some lunch instead of walking as it was a damp and humid day and not nice for traipsing around anyway........ well with that excuse out of the way we could get down to some more serious issues like what flavour pancake to have. Toby had the banana with bacon and syrup whilst i had the bacon, cheese, mushroom and syrup.

Turned out to be very nice, if not a little strange? good place to take the rellies when they turn up next month though.

We then went home and Toby went swimming whilst i got out my watercolours and produced something a 4 year old could have done. I did produce a very good dinner though! we then settled down to the very fantastic film 'Indiana Jones, Raiders of the Lost Ark'

Well my man is now back to work so i have the place to myself again. Went swimming at 11am instead of my normal 7.30am then went down the library and found a bran new 'Dean Koontz' book which i was extremely happy about - fab writer. '

I had a go at painting again but just couldn't get into the mood of it at all so went and trimmed my lavender plant.... in fact i pottered around all day doing odds and sods before preparing Toby's dinner which he wolfed down then watched a juicy episode of friends that starred Brad Pitt, god that man is darn right shaggable - i certainly wouldn't kick that man out in the morning! We went out for a run late evening, something i haven't done in ages but luckily found it to be quite easy?

Went down the pool early for a good session then popped down the garage to book in a WOF for Bertie. Whilst i was down there the nice young man at the garage put some air in the tyres ...... ahhh the ways of a woman.

I then drove into Tauranga to put some films into be developed. I have 14 of the buggers and the lot would cost $370 to get done! so i only put in 3...... much more expensive than the Uk to develop films for some reason? I then went to the opticians to book in an eye check and to find out if i could wear contacts which i have always wanted. My glasses are soooo scratched and i really need some more. The frames I looked at were about $270 which seemed the standard price even for the kids frames which are free back in the UK ( i always get them...) Looks like it's gonna be an expensive month.

I then went up to Toby's work and sat on the floor reading my new bike magazine waiting for 5pm. We had arranged to go to the cinema with Andy (Toby's work colleague) and Rachel to watch James Bond. I got a little bored waiting so darted up to Pac 'n' Save to purchase a battery operated mozzie deterrent which you could carry around anywhere - fantastic! no more jumping around in the night with the bat.

Toby and I went down to the Mount, bought 2 tickets then went and got some chips which we ate waiting for the other 2. It was a packed cinema and the bloke wouldn't' let me in the film with my bag (must have seen the hidden pick a mix and drink stash with his X-ray eyes) I personally thought the film was a bit trashy and soooooo over the top, whereas Andy thought it was fantastic ( must be a bloke thing) i do admit however that Halle Berrie looked absolutely fantastic and i'm sure if i carry on doing my exercise routine i will look like her by the end of the month!

We then said our goodbyes and went back home dispersing with our nightly run.

Toby has booked us a 12,000ft skydive for the 15th Jan over lake Taupo with JP and Louise. I was really looking forward to doing it but i must admit i'm starting to shit a brick!

Had a bit of a lie in then phoned Clare and ended up chatting to her for an hour! god i do miss them. I then went and fed the cat and kittens who were very loving today.

I then went for a swim and ended up doing 30 laps front crawl without stopping! i did 55 laps including the other stuff i do and i was very chuffed with myself. I couldn't do one lap a month ago without having to have a 10min break to get my breath back, i still thank Beau everyday for teaching me how to swim properly.

I then went the garage again to book in a 5000k service on Bertie. The rest of the day was pretty routine stuff, cleaning out the ashes from the burner in the garage then cooking dinner for Toby bla bla. God i sound like a house wife! I did get a chance to get stuck into my Dean Koontz book (i love that man) Toby came home and we spent a couple of hours reading before we went out for a run.

We had a huge rain storm all night so didn't go swimming first thing. The rain and wind grew gradually worse as the day went on but i still went for a swim at lunch time. The girl down the pool thought i was slightly mad but at least i had the place to myself. Took Bertie down to the garage for his WOF and service and i felt like a mother waiting for her child whilst i was sat in the waiting room reading my mag....... I kept looking over to him whispering words of encouragement and telling him to be brave.

Had a call from our mates Joy and Spit, who are coming over here in March, (couple of days after their wedding) to live. We are all very excited about meeting up again and intend to do a lot of champagne drinking to make up for not being there on the wedding day + Xmas 2002 / 2003 & them leaving the UK.

The weather was terrible in the afternoon and we now had a huge flood out on the asphalt which i found out when getting out of the car and stepping in water that came above my ankle. The storm raged on all evening so we decided to give the run a miss. I did get worried about the cat and kittens though so popped up to them - they were fine. So it was an evening of red wine and 'Vicar of Dibley' + Father Ted.

Gosh didn't wake up until 10am, very nice.

But when i realised what the time was a jumped out of bed an looked outside to see if the recyclable bin men had been around, and of course they had. So still asleep, I put on my trousers and coat and shoved the bin in the back of Bertie to go and chase down the lorry. I eventually stuck my bin outside Radi's house and went to feed the cat and kittens, and to my surprise my bin had been emptied. What a small life i lead.....

I went down to the garage and had the slow puncture fixed on Bertie then to the Library...... yes i obviously do lead a small life reading back on my day.

Went for a run in the evening and found it very hard but at least the rain has stopped for a while.

We both went for a swim in the morning but found my shoulder was hurting so didn't push it too hard. Toby was supposed to be working at home all weekend on the computer but he wouldn't sit down and do any work, even when i made him sit in the spare bedroom with his laptop in peace and quiet. I went into the room to see how he was getting on and found him lying on the bed having a nap! he is naughty.

He didn't do any work for the rest of the day saying he would make up for it Sunday..... yeah right.

We then decided to go to the pub for a couple of pints, something we never usually do. We went up to the Boohai and found the place empty (no surprise) after stepping up to the very small bar a man sat at the table told us we couldn't buy alcohol?? What in a pub on a saturday I ask myself...... oh no it's because the landlord forgot to renew his licence! can you believe that? so here was a pub open to the public only able to sell soft drinks.... well we left laughing all the way back to the car (only in Katikati)

So it was decided to go up to Hades bar for a drink and a game of pool, once again it was empty. Still find it hard that people don't go out to the pub for a pint sitting in the garden on a lovely sunny day. Well Toby thrashed me at pool for a change but we did manage to steal one of the pint glasses.

Spent the evening drinking white wine and watching crap tv

Well it was another dossy day really and i didn't do any exercise at all, which made me feel very guilty especially as Toby went for a bike ride and went swimming! he didn't do any of his work though.......

Once again i did another curry - boring cook aren't I !!

Best part of the day was watching the second Indiana Jones film whilst eating sweeties and crisps..... mind you still not smoking which is good, haven't had one since NYE. Not that i was a heavy smoker but i did participate in one or two of an evening, i did smoke bloody loads if out drinking though.

Had a call on the mobile from Clarky saying they were coming round to visit Monday night!! bloody ace. They are flying back to the UK on Wednesday so can only stay for one night unfortunately.

Our new battery fan mossy repellent didn't work last night as the first thing we saw when getting out of bed was a girty fat mossy and on further inspection i found a girty big bite on my stomach..... bastards, rotten wanker bastards.

Anyway i did some food shopping for dinner and the essentials - beer and wine. Tidied up the house then played a game on the computer for a while before doing something useful like painting the plant pot.

Starting to get a little nervous as Wednesday approaches and i jump out of a plane - god where is that wine i just bought.

Steve and Tracey got here about 6.45pm and we all had a tasty dinner cooked by Moi and lots of wine and beer. They told us all about there holiday and what was happening back home. Can't believe what's going on in Eastenders! Tracey gave me all the low down.

We all went to bed about 11ish as Toby and I had to get up early in the morning so we bid goodnight and hit the sack.

I cycled up to feed the cats first thing then packed some stuff for the campsite. Steve and Tracey got up just as we were leaving so we said our goodbyes and left them to it. We drove out of Katikati when i realised i had forgotten my purse so we drove back again and i ran back in the house to fetch it, Steve and Tracey were sat at the dining table. I was just saying my farewells again when Steve's chair collapsed from under him and deposited him on the floor, it frightened him so much he farted on the way down. I couldn't move for laughing so much and just seeing him sat on the floor....... well i told Toby when i got back in Bertie and we were hysterical for about 10mins - he didn't fix that chair very well did he.

Well I was left wondering the streets of Tauranga for the whole day waiting for Toby to finish work then we could drive straight to Lake Taupo. I unfortunately went to the second hand shops a couple of min's from his work place and purchased a couple of things for the house which i dropped off at his office before hitting the main town and real shops. I bought some more stuff for the house (all of which we need) for when the parents come over! I then had my eye examination at 2pm and picked out some new frames. It took ages to decide between just 2 pairs and i drove the poor girl who worked there, mad. I chose some in the end and had a heart attack when i found out the cost ($450) with lenses, I only had to pay half the cost but pay the rest on collection. What with the cost of the jump as well it means we wont be able to get any food shopping this week - mmmmmm plain rice and baked beans it is then.

Spent the rest of the afternoon feeling really guilty - oh, also forgot to meet Toby for lunch, he called at midday asking where we should go but i was already sat on the sea front eating some nacho' s....... Sorry Toby. By coincidence though I did have the pleasure of having Rachel and Andy (Toby's work colleague) who came and sat down with me

Now feeling more guilty, about the money and forgetting him i trundled back up to his office to wait for him to finish. We then drove to the lake and met JP and Louise at the Big 10 campsite where we got ourselves a cabin for the night instead of putting up the tent, it was very cold! Spent the evening chatting and drinking beer but i wanted to get to bed, was feeling a little car sick still from the journey.

Woke up after a shite nights sleep thanks to Toby snoring and me forgetting my earplugs. We phoned the skydiving company at 9am to make to get the all clear then set off for the airport. I was feeling a little nervous but not half as bad as when i took my bike test! We filled in our forms then sat around for a while waiting for our turn, JP and Louise got kitted out first and then were taken to the plane. Toby and I started talking to a lovely couple from the UK who were traveling around and we swapped web site addresses ( they had a travel web dairy as well) they had already done their jumps and were saying how great it was. Before too long they called our names and we were getting our lovely jump suits, harness, hat etc strapped on. Louise and JP walked back in with huge grins on their faces and were beaming - must be good. I had a tandem instructor called Freddy who was very nice and i think he thought i was scared to death because i was so calm and collected! He wouldn't let me go from the moment he helped me with the harness and kept asking if i was ok..........I actually felt very very un nervous? i really looked miserable in the video and pictures but was just very focused. I think Freddy was used to people getting all fired up and wooing whilst high fiving all the time - oh the English reserve...

We had opted for the 12,000ft drop without video (too bloody expensive) so just had to rely on JP to take a video of us landing! Well all five of us all with tandem instructors bundled into a tiny plane backwards so that we were sat on the instructors knees and facing the back of the plane. The take off was smooth but was quite strange as Toby and myself were sat next to the door which was clear plastic so we could see everything. Freddy attached himself to me but it was very tight and i couldn't breathe, he loosened it thank goodness. We were up to 12,500ft when the green light went on and i looked at Toby's little face which was by now as white as a sheet, it was the first time i have ever seen him look scared. The door went back and Toby and Andy shuffled to the edge before having a photo taken then were off. Then it was the girl next to me, then it was my turn. We shuffled to the edge and he gave me a very quick brief on what he had already told me - i.e how to position myself whilst freefalling and gave me permission to scream. We then had a quick photo and were falling out of the plane, he did a back flip just as we fell out which turned my stomach in knots but before i knew it we were flying in the air!!!!!!! I can't really explain the experience only that you are looking down on the blanket of clouds trying desperately to breath because you are falling so quickly. It's not like a bungee type of falling, well only for the first 5 seconds! You are just being blasted from the wind looking down on the clouds, Freddy pointed out the sun spot on the clouds which produced a wonderful rainbow effect. After 45sec of free fall and falling 8,000ft, just as you fall through the clouds he pulls the cord and the chute goes up. Then it's just the most wonderful feeling, like sitting in a chair and flying like a bird with miles and miles of open space around us but the thing that hit me most was now the absolute quiet. We did a few twists and turns which made my tummy start rolling again but it just so gentle and peaceful - awesome

We landed very smoothly and I found myself kissing Freddy, thanking him. It was the first time he saw me show any emotion and of course i hadn't screamed on the way down which i think he was disappointed about.

Well it was over and i felt fantastic, after we had changed and watched the video and looked at the photo's (mine was crap) we said our goodbye's to Louise and JP and headed home. I once again suffered from car sickness - forgot to mention we had Kathy's car and not Bertie so was please to finally arrive in Katikati feeling exhausted. Toby crashed out for an hour whilst I tidied up and then we just vegged out on the couch for the evening.

Moment of the day: when we were 5,000ft in the air floating down like a feather with Lake Taupo, mountains and green fields surrounding us and Freddy whispers in my ear,

' Welcome to my office'

Wow, very deep

JP and Louise popped over in the evening and had a couple of beers before heading off down to the end of the road to park up near the water for the night.

Spent the day painting all my plant pots with my new tester paint and rearranging a few things - getting very excited about having the family over. Went and picked loads of fruit from our garden and found a tiny little birds nest with a little mummy bird sat on it, when she flew off all these tiny little heads popped up with open mouths - so sweet. I then went swimming but didn't do very well then went for a run in the evening and again i found it hard.

Got up early and went for a swim and thankfully did a lot better. Just pottered around for the day and read my book, weather was really hot so i didn't sit in the sun. I went and took the spare key back to Radi who was the owner of the kittens. I had dinner on the table for Toby when he got home as always.

Wow a wonderful sunny day and we decided to stay in so that Toby could get some work done. I on the other hand ended up trying to do something with my lampshade and have now finally destroyed all hopes of salvage..... oh well. I did tart up some more of my painted milo tins/plant pots and had few ideas to some other stuff to make this place a little homelier for when the parents come over. Good news about Clive coming over and i'm really pleased for Toby as he is so looking forward to seeing him. Had a strange dinner due to the fact we didn't have much food left in the larder then went out for a run.

Back to Yoga lessons - wahey. Didn't have to pay thank goodness due to not having any money so she said i could pay next week. Cycled there and back again then did some painting before lunch. I cycled down to the pool but it was full of blinkin kids...... yuk. I decided to drive down later in the day but it seems I have lost the knack for swimming for some reason? could only manage a few lengths then felt really shaky, think my sugar level just took a nose dive so just had enough strength to dry myself and get dressed before crawling to the shop and buying a chocolate bar- aaaagh instant relief. Went home feeling deflated, why can't i swim anymore? Anyway made Toby an exciting dinner of salad... yum then did my diary before going out for a run, something i haven't done for ages

Received an email from Chewie, old school friend who lives in Auckland. He has invited us out to a big beer fest on Feb 1st which is when i go up to Auckland for my eye test to see if I can have them lasered, all fits in nicely. Also arranged to meet up with Jules whom i met in Queenstown so that's something else to look forward to.

Had a terrible nights sleep due to my back hurting. When i got up the next day I found i was in agony........... oh fantastic 1 hours worth of gentle Yoga and i felt like i had a 20inch knife sticking out of the middle of my back. Spent the day doing nothing but sitting and reading whilst having regular muscle spasms and limited breathing ability, didn't even bother with swimming and didn't go for a run in the evening - hey i couldn't even pull my own pants up!

Mmmmm another crappy nights sleep, couldn't find one comfortable position to sleep in and once again spent the day not doing an awful lot. My highlight was going down the library......... still having muscle spasms and difficulty breathing which must have looked very strange to the dear old ladies down the Library - i looked like i was having some kind of fit whilst trying to bend down to the lower shelves. Still can't believe Yoga could do this to me though, we only did a few gentle stretches??? I made dinner for Toby then read my book for the rest of the day. Starting to worry about what to get for his birthday though which is looming fast.

Toby was up and out of bed very early which meant i had to get up not long after him, don't know why, just can't sleep. We decided to go for walk down at Waihi which had a small trek to the next bay and a trek to some waterfalls. We started off at about 11ish and the weather was lovely - not too hot with a lovely breeze. The first part of the walk took us to the most beautiful white sandy beached cove, we came around a corner and just looked down upon it. The water was just such a vivid blue and green just like the Mediterranean Sea. We walked along the beach to the other end and found the path which took us to the waterfall. That walk was actually quite hard and had us crossing a stream 5 or 6 times and hiking over rocks, logs etc. I was thinking of taking my mum on this walk when she get here but thought better of it by the time we got to the falls. I was thinking how it was quite a hard walk and that maybe mum wouldn't be able to cope, when we turned another corner and found the falls and 3 oldies sat on the floor eating their sarnies! Cripes maybe the walk wasn't as hard as all that then? The falls were a little disappointing and was more of a trickle but you could see it turned into quite a biggie when the wet season was around. We sat and took a few pictures before heading back the way we had come, we found wild strawberries and at one point we stopped to watch some small wild birds (fan tail) they seemed to be as interested at us as we were of them and came to sit on the branches right next to us. I could have reached up and touched them they were so close, very lovely. Felt awful when we came out of the forest though as our drink bottle had fallen out of Toby's bag, I hate people who leave litter anywhere so felt really guilty. We felt a little better when walking back to the car we picked up an empty bottle someone had dropped in t he bushes. By now we were getting very hungry but were starving by the time we got back to the car at 3pm. A quick stop for a Vanilla Coke and a packet of Salt and vinegar Crisps kept us going till we got home. Didn't go out for a run as I was feeling pretty tired from our days excursion.

Mum phoned at 9am and we had a lovely chat, she was asking me for ideas of what to buy for Toby's Birthday - no idea

We then went swimming and i actually did 50 lengths , 40 of them were front crawl!! i have got my swimming ability back again, thank goodness. Didn't do much for the rest of the afternoon but Toby mended the radio in the car ready for my drive out to Ohopo tomorrow to visit Julia.

Very excited! i drove to Ohope just past Whakatane today which took about 2hrs. Went to visit Julia whom I first met in Queenstown and we shared a room together. We got on like a house on fire in Queenstown but hadn't really spoken since so i was a little worried.

Had a fantastic drive all along the coast and when i arrived, Julia had baked the most wonderful banana cake for us! how sweet is that. We automatically just clicked again and spent the afternoon non stop talking whilst walking up and down the beach which is 2 steps from her house. It was so nice to have a chat with another female - really miss that. She really reminds me of my mate Alison back home whom is lovely and we seem to have the same sort of strange bond thing, like we have known each other for a life time. Julia is expecting a little baby and is going to OZ to get married in March and has said we can go and stay with them for a bit if we go back to Brisbane - would love to! We had a wonderful salad in Whakatane, in the only cafe that was open. Bank holiday over here means everything shuts, You would think the cafe's and restaurants would be open because of the extra trade........ It was like ghost town.

Anyway i bid farewell and drove home, stopped off to get some small provisions. I found Toby still beavering away at the computer. Didn't go out for a run - bad girl.

Went swimming first thing.

Later i went to Waihi Beach and had a little look around, found a lovely pair of 3quarter length sporty trousers for Toby from the second hand shop and a blouse and a book for me. Tidied up the house in the afternoon then went and got a Chinese for the both of us. Went for a run but was absolutely crap.

Feeling pretty horrible because of the lack of swimming…

Went out for a run in the evening and did pretty well for a change

Another quick bike ride and then off to work together – very sweet. Had a great day at work and spent most of it reading my book and then popping out into town to do some banking etc. Friday is Pizza day so had a few slices of that for lunch.
Didn’t go out for a run but did go to bed early.