:taptaptap: Is this thing on?

Wow hey? :looks around and sees the date of my last post: Whoops…

It has been brought to my attention that though most of my social media interaction has moved to Instagram and Twitter, and then re-posted on Facebook, there are some wonderful people out there who only read and therefore miss these blog updates. So let me catch you up a bit!

Himself and I have recently come back from another trip though, and are in the process of planning our Summer shenanigans! We were back to the Antipodes so that your Wee Goldfishie Girl could finally have a drive around and actually see the South Island where Himself grew up.

I loved being taken around the places he holidayed and went as a child. Listening to old family tales. We began in Christchurch and took the inland road down to Lake Tekapo.

We spent two nights in Tekapo so we had an entire day of walking around there. It is an amazing spot, and one of the things we wanted to see was the stars. The population density at home in Amsterdam makes too much light pollution for stargazing.

Before heading out of Tekapo we headed up to the observatory for an amazing view of the Lake itself in all its azure glory. Heading South towards Queenstown we stopped off briefly in Wanaka to see a friend of mine (*waves at Susan*).

We weren’t staying in Queenstown as such, but just outside of Queenstown at Nugget Point where we were upgraded to the most amazing room with a view of the Shotover River. We did go through Queenstown, stopping off that morning for coffee before continuing our journey.

The next step was at the Moeraki Boulders. We had been unable to get a room in Dunedin, but I wasn’t upset because I had wanted to stop and see the boulders anyway! On tip from family we also had an amazing dinner at Fleur’s Place that night!

From there it was on to our home away from home. Our happy place on the other side of the planet… Akaroa. This place never fails to bring us joy and peace. Also, after driving around for five days it was nice to stop for a couple of days and settle into the tight knit community.

Once we got our feet under us, and had spent some time on the water, we were on our way again. This time it was off to Sydney for the fastest visit I think I’d ever like to make. There was a wonderful family day up the Blue Mountains, where we gathered to eat lunch, and scatter Dads ashes.

And then it was on down to the Southern Highlands for the kind of amazing wedding that only the Southern Highlands can put on! (As an aside, I also decorated my first wedding cake! :adds that to the resume along with “good under pressure”:)

Much to my horror, I found out that Himself had never been to the Southern Highlands! With it’s amazing roads and spectacular scenery, I don’t think it’s going anywhere soon, so I’ve lined it up for a future trip.

With that, we were on our way home. It was one of the more compact trips we’ve ever made! I’m impressed with just how much we managed to fit in, all the people we managed to see.

So, when will be be back in that area? Probably not for a while now. We have so many other things to do around here. I even found a bunch of photos that I have already uploaded here that I need to tell you about from last year! So, stick around my wee Fishies!