Where are we all

nanachrissy love the secret sign idea

how about a little pin badge with the letters GN ?

But not one of those with the push-on bit at the back, they always fall off

Hello Notso - I live in Romsey , so not too far from you . We like to visit Hythe , such a pretty little town , with a lovely view of all the shipping in and out of Southampton .Nice to meet another southerner !! .

Maybe we could meet for a coffee next time you head over this way riclorian?
I love all the shipping traffic, the cruisers and even the mahoosive container ships. Southampton Water is so narrow, it feels as though you could reach out and touch the ships from Waitrose car park! You can set you watch by the 5pm cruise departures when all the famous liners set off and hoot their very loud hooters.

I'm in the South Island of NZ. Born and bred here apart from 7 years in Brisbane Australia.

Hello, Kiwibird. I am in Wakefield at the moment, and the Brightwater bridge is closed. My grand-daughter is arriving from England tonight so we hope the river has subsided a bit by morning so we can pick her up at Nelson airport. What is the weather like near you?

It finally stopped raining in the night and the bridge to Nelson airport has reopened, but a State of Emergency has been declared as there is widespread flooding in the coastal areas, with landslips, roads washed away, and general devastation.
My daughter's creek has subsided and her pigs are nice and dry on their raised platform. The house itself is on piles which is common here.
One grand-daughter arrives from England via Melbourne and Auckland in about an hour (it is 9.05 here) and the eldest grandson arrives on Sunday.
It is quite warm and the house is very snug - it will soon be very crowded with nine people, a cat and two dogs indoors, but we will have a lovely Christmas!

Hi Kiwibird and welcome to the Northern Hemisphere. Where are you in South Island? My sister is in Christchurch and I have been there several times and toured around most of the island. So lovely and now Christchurch is so sad, though hopefully it will revive.

Hi Annobel, I've just discovered your message. I live in Dunedin, south of Christchurch. Dunedin's a lovely university city. Born and brought up here although spent 7 years living in Brisbane. I do hope your sister's house wasn't damaged in the earthquakes and that she's feeling a little safer now that the number of aftershocks is decreasing. A terrible time for them all.

It seems to be the year of disasters - Collingwood is still accessible by boat and helicopter only. No problems here in Wakefield, just slow traffic into Nelson as only one road is open.

Kiwibird I bet you can lay claim to being our most southerly member! I visited the Otago Peninsula the first time time I came to NZ - saw the albatrosses and the yellow-eyed penguins - fabulous. We had lunch in Dunedin, but it was raining and we didn't have an incentive to wander round and catch the atmosphere of the place. Maybe next time... Sister is one of the lucky ones, with little structural damage, still waiting to get the surface damage fixed - plastering, redecoration, etc. Last time I was in NZ, we intended going to Stewart Island, but it was very stormy and we stayed at Wanaka where we almost go blown away walking by the lake. Again, maybe next time...
Merry Christmas to you - thirteen hours earlier than ours!

I am going whale watching with one of my grandsons tomorrow, and then on the post boat round the islands of Marlborough Sound the next day. I love New Zealand and the friendly people here.

Right....now I really am envious Greatnan. Say 'hello' to the whales from me - it's the nearest I'm going to get! Please tell us all about your adventure next time. Have a fabulous day x

Good luck with the whale watching and may the sea be calm... Kaikoura?
Hi kiwibird - big fan of NZ and although not been to Dunedin did make it to Stewart Island. I know the wellington region best. Miss it. Son there. Need to plan next trip.

Greatnan, I am always amused that what we call hiking or even just rambling is 'tramping' in New Zealand - it sounds so much more arduous.

Hi Greatnan and Annobel, Greatnan, our weather so far today, (Friday morning 8:00am is fabulous. It's 'turned the corner' I think, although you know what our weather can be like, summer in the morning and winter by night time. So good to see blue sky again. Have you emigrated to NZ and living in the Nelson area? Or are you a "kiwi" too? I hope your grand-daughter has a lovely Christmas with you. Annobel, what a shame about the weather here while you were travelling. We had six weeks driving up through England to Glasgow, Helensburgh (where my h. comes from) and Edinburgh then back through England to London in Sept. Loved it!!! But the weather in Scotland! Had to hang on to lamp-posts to stay upright! Still had a really great time and would love to do it again. A very Happy Christmas to you both. Lovely to 'chat' from the 'deep south'. One last thing - what is a dd or a ds? What sort of 'daugher' or 'son'? Dear daughter maybe?

That's right KB, DS - dear (or darling) son; DD - dear daughter; DH - dear husband etc. GS, GD, GC - are the grands.
Two years ago, when I was down under for the spring, it was your coldest spring for goodness knows how many years, but wasn't all bad. The times before that I had great weather. But I know what you mean about the changeability of the weather.

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.

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

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...)

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.

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.

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!

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.