Where are we all

Glassortwo, It has been awhile since I was in Newcastle. The last time I was there I went to Worsick street buss station looking for a bus to Durham. Somebody had moved the bus station and I ended up having to take a taxi. Newcastle has change alot since I left in 1972. I remember bringing my then girlfriend (now my wife) for the first time to Newcastle. Sailing up the Tyne, she wasn´t very impressed, but that soon changed when she got into the town centre and saw the shops. She went loopy, everything was so cheep, I think she bought everything she set her eyes on. Since then we have been back quite alot, at least once and sometimes twice a year and my wife loves it and can´t get enough. Already she is planning where to take our daugter-in-law shopping when we come in the summer. No doubt my son and I shall have wait it out in some pub and then carry all the bags home. Life is not always fair!

pelaw Newcastle is as it always is, best place in the world to live, not that I am biased or anything. I dont know how long it is since you were in Newcastle, if it has been a while you will be surprised especially along the quayside looks very cosmopolitan now. What with the Sage and the Millennium bridge etc.

Glassortwo, It´s nice to hear from a fellow Geordie, How are things in the north east? I shall be coming home to Durham in June next year and bringing my son, his wife and their children. My grandchildren want to see where their grandad grew up and lived before I emigrated to Norway. I think that they are in for quite a suprise, here in Norway we live on a small island between Bergen and Stavanger and the kids have never been to a realy big city like Newcastle.

I look forward to seeing your photos, Pelawjohn.
We have not been affected by the Christchurch tremors, as we are about 250 miles North. The big one happened to the town last February, when I was here, and that was really terrible. No serious inuries this time, fortunately, but I think many people will be leaving Christchurch for good.

greatnan your trip sounds out of this world, hope you are ok just heard the news of the earthquakes! Your trip to see the whales is on my must do list

Pelawjohn hello, I am from Newcastle and love Durham I would miss it too.

Greatnan, I live on an island called Bømlo which is situated about half way between Bergen and Stavanger. The island is in middle of the fjords, at the entrance to the Hardanger fjord and a very beautiful place. I shall try to post some pictures on my profile which I hope will give you some idea of where I live.

Pelawjohn, it sounds as if you could be living somewhere even more isolated than my little Alpine village! Could you tell us how you came to be there, and what it is like? I have long planned to visit the fjiords, but trips from the UK are very expensive, so it looks as if I will be visiting Fjiordland in New Zealand instead.
MY GS was at Durham university and I visited him there - I thought it was a delightful little town and I love the wild scenery.

I don't know Durham, pelawjohn, but I've travelled down that east coast railway line a few times and thought the scenery wonderful. Easy to see why you miss it.

I am from Durham now living on an island off the west coast of Norway. Although I do love living here I do miss Durham city and the countryside around.

Thank you, ladies - the sun has been shining every day since the rain stopped, but one town, Collingwood, is still accessible only by boat. I was surprised to hear how rarely the boat operators have to refund money because no whales are seen. There was a helicopter and also a small plane overhead, and I think they share information about the whereabouts of the whales. There were lots of seals playing on the rocks by the beach, and they seemed to be showing off for the cameras.
Another example of Kiwi kindness - I was waiting in the car outside the house for my GS to fetch his sun glasses, and a lady did a U-turn and came back to ask if I needed any help.
I got a quote from a firm that makes the cabins and for a really luxurious one, with a separate double bedroom, laundry, verandah, all erected, decorated, carpeted, with an en-suite shower room and a small kitchen, all mains services connected, it would be about £40,000. I told them I didn't need the bedroom as I am used to living in a studio, and my daughter would do my laundry for me, so he is giving me a floor plan for a smaller unit, about 18' long x 9' wide. My move is still several years away, but I wanted to make sure I could afford something suitable when the time is right.
My holiday and future plans are helping to take my mind off my great sadness about my other daughter, and the affect that her addiction to codeine is having on our relationship.

Jess, you were lucky to see the sides of Doubtful Sound - we were there in a continuous downpour.

Wonderful, Greatnan - this makes me determined to try again for a whale-watching trip. You are having such a lovely holiday and you deserve it. I'm off now to the family in Oxfordshire so have a very happy Christmas in NZ - I hope the sun shines for your barbie. - the best Marlborough can supply and you can't get much better than that!

Doubtful sound is one of the most special places. My brain just could not take in that the sides are a kilometre high...

Sorry spelling error, meant Kaikoura

Greatnan, I am very envious reading your description of whale watching at Kaikora. In Feb last year, we were there and due to rough sea we couldn't go out that afternoon but turned up next morning at 0730 to try again. It was a huge swell when we started looking for whales and we never saw one! Many people were sick and we were amongst the 5% who had money returned for non viewing!
We saw lovely Hector dolphins though. So I still have a big wish to see whales...
Everywhere else we went worked perfectly and even had 34 degrees and sun at Doubtful Sound.
Best wishes.

Glad it went well. The only time we went whale watching in California it was gruesome. I got soaked from the waist down and the crew just laughed. He felt sick. We caught a few glimpses of the backs of some blue whales.
We staggered off the boat and DH said "Now I know what wildlife programmes are for!"
Hope the clouds cleared and you could see the beautiful mountains
Kai is the Maori word for food isn't it.

What a trip of a lifetime you're having Greatnan. The whale watching must have been awesome, and to see the dolphins as well must have been such a treat.

The whale watching at Kaikoura was wonderful - we were only about 50' from two whales and my grandson got some great photos of them, especially of their huge tails when they got ready to dive. We saw albatrosses and lots of seals and a couple of dolphins. The drive from Nelson to Kaikoura was so beautiful, but I could understand why it might be a bit daunting for anyone not used to twisty mountain roads!
We shared a huge cray fish from a roadside stall (£25!!) and my GS said it was one of the best days he has ever had. Mind you, he said that yesterday about his first parachute jump. He is off to the Lakes tomorrow with his sister, who is here on holiday from Lancaster university. They are heading for a refuge with their sleeping bags and cooking gear. Then he has a bungee jump before leaving for a diving holiday in Fiji. He does work very hard in London, so I think he deserves his chance to forget work and enjoy all the wonderful things NZ has to offer.

As I live in a ski resort in the French Alps and usually walk for several hours a day up very steep paths (the only kind there is!) I am very happy to tramp in New Zealand! I also have no fear of driving on tortuous mountain roads.
The main difference I have found is that there is no open access to land in NZ so I am grateful there are so many national parks. I am used to wandering up any interesting looking path, always wearing my bright pink cap to alert the 'chasse' that I am not fair game. I can usually walk for three hours without meeting a soul as I try to avoid the popular walking routes.

I hope you have good luck with the whales, Greatnan. The time we had booked to go on the whale-watching trip, it was called off because of rough conditions and I haven't yet made it. So disappointing. But it's lovely to see the Hector's dolphins (smallest species) at Akaroa. I tried swimming with them once but nearly died of cold when I jumped in, even with the wetsuit, had to be hauled into the boat and revived by my medic sister! What a fiasco. What a wimp!

tramping in NZ is more arduous than walking and hiking in other places. Every year there are a number of deaths I believe (that right Kiwibird). Last year the man who ran the national museum and his mate died in unexpected snow not far from Wellington. They were very experienced. I always look at those hills and remind myself just how empty and rugged they are. Look across the harbour from wellington at the "ranges" ... next town is in S America.

Just one example of the wonderful service here - I went into a chemist's to buy some blister plasters (we have been doing a lot of walking!) and the sales woman not only showed me where they were but insisted on giving me a chair and she then knelt down and put the plaster on for me! I can't see it happening in Boots!
We had a great day watching my grandson do his first sky-dive and tomorrow we are whale-watching from Kaikoura.
No wonder New Zealand rates so high on any survey of happiness.

Hello, Kiwibird (and Greatnan of course!) I didn't know about the flooding but am glad to hear you're OK. Just a damp looking morning here in the South of England, but it's early yet. (Yawn...)

It's lovely to hear how happy you are Greatnan when you spend time in NZ and what a compliment to you for your daughter and son in law to ask you to live with them, albeit in the sleep-out in the garden. A great arrangement. I hope the visa requirement goes well with no problems and that you're soon a "South Islander". Have a very Happy Christmas with your family and I hope you can enjoy lots of sun and sea before you leave on the 13th. Kiwkbird

Yes , the DD had me fooled at first, but you are right that it stands for Dear Daughter.
My own daughter and SIL emigrated to Wakefield 14 months ago with three of their six children. The older three remained in the UK but at the moment two of them are here for Christmas. The other lives with his partner and two little girls in Kent, but we will be all together when they get married next August. The eldest boy, who is 28, has been so impressed during his short stay here that he is seriously considering emigrating. We hope the others might follow, but the elder girl is at Lancaster university and has a long term boyfriend in England. She is enjoying her stay here at the moment but says she could never leave the UK - time will tell.
I am still living in France, but I spent last February and March here, and I am now here until 13th January, when I fly to Phuket for a week's snorkeling before returning to France.
My daughter and her husband have asked me to join them as soon as they can arrange the necessary visa for me. I will be living in a 'sleep out' in their large garden, so I will be completely independent, but near enough to have a cup of tea with her every day.
I have been so impressed by everything and everybody in NZ - the friendliness and helpfulness are unbelievable. My family already has a wide circle of friends and when it looked as if the road to the airport was going to be closed six people who live on the Nelson side rang to say they would meet my grand-daughter and let her stay with them if necessary.
The two younger children love their school and the 18-year old girl has just finished her first year of a nursing degee at Nelson College.
No need to mention the stunning scenery, especially since Lord of the Rings was filmed here! I live in a very beautiful part of the French Alps, but I won't be short of mountains and lakes when I move here.