An engaging Saturday on Waiheke

On the morning of the day I would ask Claire to marry me, we woke up to rain.

My disappointment in the weather was obvious, and Claire, reassuringly and lovingly said:

"Oh, Tim, the weather doesn't matter; as long as we have..."

Here is the point where I thought Claire was going to say "each other," but in fact, she said:

"Oh, Tim, the weather doesn't matter; as long as we have appropriate clothing."

I melted. :-) We laughed.

In Claire's defense, that line stems from a childhood of annual family holidays on the coast of wales - where I'm told the Pullingers would go sit on the beach - even if it was raining - where they would settle themselves in under umbrellas and eat soggy sandwiches.

As it turned out, the weather was good enough and it didn't ruin my proposal surprise, and Claire said yes. The full story is best told with pictures - so please follow the link and read the captions. Be warned though, it may be a bit sappy, but I've always been a hopeful romantic. Thanks for reading!

http://picasaweb.google.com/timothydenison/TheStoryOfOurEngagement12122009?authkey=Gv1sRgCLPx--m_qYHsiQE&feat=directlink

While you were having Thanksgiving...

New evidence strongly suggests we may have a criminal in the family.

As an American, I suppose I grew up thinking Australia and New Zealand were pretty much the same. Not true. Aside from the differences in size - both land mass and population with NZ much smaller for both - and of course the fact that in Australia nearly everything in nature can kill you, whereas in NZ the most dangerous beast may be the defenseless kiwi, there are some interesting cultural differences. I suspected the two countries shared a similar brotherly love as the U.S. and Canada - full of banter but deep down quite friendly. As such, I was surprised to discover the genuine superiority the New Zealanders feel - as unlike NZ where civilized Europeans immigrated, Australia was settled by a "heep of convicts". When I proudly proclaimed we would be visiting Fort Denison and the Denison Lighthouse in Sydney, named after the former governor of New South Wales, my Kiwi colleagues looked at me with a mixture of pity and disgust. Apparently having an Aussie in the family is even worse than being an American. (Pictured - Fort Denison life preserver, Dad taking a shot of Fort Denison from the ferry)

But, we have to hand it to the convicts, they've built a pretty great city.

While everyone in the U.S. was fighting the tryptophan coma yesterday, mom and dad were fighting to stay awake after a 14 hour red-eye flight as we made our way on a ferry into Sydney Harbour to see the quaint little island on which Fort Denison has sat guard some 150 years. We baked in the sun and enjoyed spectacular views of Sydney, and Dad took picture after picture. (Sydney pictured from the fort)

In the evening we wandered around 'The Rocks', a fun area in Sydney with a bunch of shops, and stumbled upon a tiny pizza place, Zia Pina (pictured), which had been highly recommended - in great length apparently - by my dad's long time friend Larry. And admittedly, it was excellent pizza, and we dined under signed menus from some of the most famous athletes of our time (I was most impressed by Joe Montana). Dad wanted a picture to send to Larry, but was slightly embarrassed by the rocket which made the pizza look entirely too healthy (pictured). Rest assured, gobs of cheese and parma ham are hiding beneath the salad.

Today we'll make our way to the Opera House for a tour, and then off to Watson's Bay for a sit down meal at Doyle's, a relatively famous seafood restaurant right on the coast with great views.

A smelly birthday

After a month long photographic drought, we're back to having too much to share again.

Claire spent the worst two weeks of auckland's weather 'pottering around' between jobs, then we got our first taste of Kiwi weddings seeing our close friends Johannah and Fergus get married (pictured), and after Claire's first week of work at Telecom we drove down to spend the weekend celebrating her birthday in Rotorua.

Hoping to make the birthday girl's bday a good one, the surprise (for Claire) of rolling into Hamurana Lodge (pictured) had the desired effect. It's an impressive Tudor style 35 year old mansion converted into a lodge complete with a classic Rolls in the drive. We were hosted by a couple of attentive and courteous native French speaking men who arranged for champagne and cheese cake to be brought to our room for Claire's birthday the evening we arrived (pictured).

On Saturday, for the second part of Claire's birthday present, we went sailing on a 53 foot catamaran. It was just the two of us and the skipper, a nice Kiwi bloke named Matt who recently sailed the boat we were on from the Carribean to its new home in NZ. Claire got to help out sailing (pictured pulling up the main sail), and I just enjoyed the ride.

Rotorua and the surround area is the most active volcanic region in NZ. Part of our sailing trip included docking at a series of pools of varying temperatures fed by hot water springs only accessible by boat. It was a brisk day, with good winds, and a soak in the hot water pools - one too hot to stay in - made for a perfect day.

On Sunday we went to visit one of the three main volcanic parks - Wai-o-tapu "Thermal Wonderland". I loved it, although it does smell more than a bit of rotten eggs. The park has a series of natural pools (pictured the 'champagne pool') coloured by variety of elements prevalent in the hot water springs and volcanic vents. Nearby was a surprisingly entertaining set of mud pools constantly 'exploding' with bubbles of gas venting from fumaroles under the surface (pictured).

We ventured back in to Rotorua for a late lunch and stumbled onto a festival of sorts. Truly a surreal Kiwi experience, complete with wood chopping and boar hunting competitions (pictured). The crowds gathered to see two men race to chop through 50cm thick logs adjacent to where the boars were weighed and measured. Neither of us had witnessed a wood chopping competition before (let alone a boar hunting one), but it was hard to not be fascinated, and with a couple of Speight's draught beers we cheered along with everyone else.

The end of Winter

Its been a while since our last blog post, so I thought I'd better remedy the situation and provide an update on our latest adventures. The last few weeks have seen a range of events...Tim's played in a couple more concerts, I attended Johannah's hen's lunch party, we visited the Coromandel Pennisula and I got a new job!

Tim's latest concerts included an arguably more fitting repertoire than his previous Proms performance....this time it was music from the Americas. A great selection of popular classics, including the theme tune to the West Wing! (this was particularly appreciated by

Kineret, the wife of Tim's colleague, who I think may be the show's greatest fan!) They joined me for the performance at the Auckland Town Hall, a beautiful building that was packed out with families anticipating the show. The playlist included a special guest appearance from an American accordion player, who was in town for the World Accordion competition, whic h Tim (and the rest of the orchestra) also accompanied. We feel proud to live in a city that hosts such world class competitive events...

The weekend before last was Johannah's hen's lunch party. Her good friend Issy organised a fantastic afternoon at a lovely restaurant called Andiamos, complete with bubbles, games and fun accessories for the bride-to-be. I was so pleased I could join Johannah and a huge crowd of her lovely girlfriends, in the lead up to her & Fergus's special day.

Over the last few weeks I've also been interviewing for a strategy job at Telecom (the NZ version of BT). I'm pleased to say that they offered me the position, and I'm looking forward to starting on the 5th October. Thanks to Mum & Dad for the celebratory bubbles and Granny & Grandpa for the lovely card!

Last weekend Tim and I became Jaffas again as we headed to the Coromandel Pennisula. The weather was perfect and we had a very relaxing couple of days. Tim had found us a great holiday apartment in Whitianga (pronounced Fitianga), with views of the bay. On Saturday, we visited Hot Water Beach, aptly named given the nearby volcanic fault which creates a layer of hot water just under the sand. Its a strange sight, resembling something rather like an archeological dig, as visitors use their rented spades to locate the hot water and quickly dig paddling pools before a wave comes and destroys all their hard work! The water was surprisingly hot in some places, causing Tim and I to hop in and very quickly out of various steaming pools. We also visited Cathedral Cove, a little further up the coast, named after a spectacular limestone arch! The cove is reached by walking along a stunning cliff top path, which winds through groves of native trees, before reaching the fabulous arched rock and beautiful secluded bay. I would definitely like to visit again.

On Sunday we drove up the coast a little further and found another couple of wonderfully secluded bays, where we enjoyed planning a return visit in the summer, equipped with Kayaks and snorkels. We then drove over to the West coast of the Pennisula, stopping off to enjoy a distant view of Auckland city, before heading into Coromandel town for lunch. Its a quaint little spot which enjoyed a short-lived gold rush in the late 1800s. Its now home to a selection of cafes, art shops and the popular 'smoke house', where Tim tried a selection of smoked mussels. We spent the rest of the afternoon taking a leisurely drive down the coastal road, before joining the other Jaffas on the motorway back to Auckland.

Tim's musical schedule is kicked up a notch over the next week or so as he joins a second orchestra (St Matthews Chamber Orchestra) in rehearsals for a concert on the 20th September. This one is slightly more serious, playing Handel and Mendelssohn, rather than the theme to the West Wing.

What's wrong with Whangarei?

We've decided we like being jafas. The endearing term has nothing to do with the little cakes you can buy in the UK. A 'jafa' is what those who live in the beautiful places and small towns around New Zealand affectionately call the frequent holiday seekers, or weekend travellers, from Auckland, who will often more than triple a town's population during nice weather, weekends, and holidays. It stands for Just Another F#@!ing Aucklander.

So last weekend, wearing the badge of jafa proudly, Claire and I were more than happy to visit Whangarei.

Actually, it's pronounced Fongaray (well as near as I can understand anyway) - so my little alliteration in the title is lost. 'Wh' in Maori is pronounced like an 'f'. So in Maori, jafa is spelled jawha.

Well, what is wrong with Whangarei? When Claire and I were choosing a destination, the Bay of Islands - the well known highlight of the North Island - was top of Claire's list, but I was a bit worried it was too focused on water sports (snorkling, sailing, kayaking, etc), and it is winter after all, and the water is cold, so I persuaded Claire to save that paradise for a warmer weekend and instead stay in Whangarei where tramping (hiking) could be found - according to our Lonely Planet anyway.

How little Claire trusted my judgement on Whangarei was apparent when we hiked to Whangarei falls Saturday morning (pictured). Claire radiated shocked disbelief that there was something nice there to behold. I tried not to be offended - trust in a relationship is overrated after all.

The shock continued through the afternoon when we went for another hike out at Ocean Beach. We have more beautiful pictures than we can share along the coastline, but here are two, one of Claire in front of the beach, and one looking back at Ocean Beach from where we hiked.

Sunday we were a bit more ambitious and tallied up a few hundred miles driving to the West coast and down through Waipoua forest where some ancient Kauri trees can be found. Here's a picture of me in front of a young Kauri tree planted in 1979, and then in front of Tane Mahuta (meaning Lord of the Forest), one of the oldest Kauri trees suspected to be around 2000 years old. I'm standing in front of that one too... have a close look. Spectacular.

The next two weekends we'll be in Auckland, and I'll be playing in three concerts with the Auckland Symphony featuring 'American' music. (The real odd piece we're playing is an accordion concerto - but it's not what I expected. It's very dark and brooding.) But that should get us through August, and as the days pass, we'll be looking forward to once again being jafas.

As work goes

Claire just told me that I am funnier than I look. I think she meant that as a compliment, but I'm still trying to work it out.

There are some things in life I recently realized (or realised if you prefer) that I always accepted as 'givens'. For example, walking home from work across the Auckland Domain up by the museum (first picture) at say 6 p.m., and it's dark outside, there's a crisp breeze, maybe about 5 degrees (40F), many trees have lost their leaves, and I think Christmas must be coming soon, and Ohio State must be playing football this Saturday. Because these things happen in Autumn and Winter, and it's Winter. Seasons have always been a constant in life, and it's a bit hard to adjust.

Claire and I took a walk today from our villa to the hospital (second picture) across the domain (Auckland's largest park) - I particularly wanted to show her the view from our office... it's pretty spectacular. Claire took a few photos out of the window. I'm on the 14th floor, second from the top, and my desk overlooks Auckland to my left (3rd picture) and out over the harbour and nearby islands to my right (4th picture).

I must admit, working in a hospital is quite an experience. My job is with the Auckland District Health Board and the Auckland City Hospital (the building I work in is pictured). I've recently spent several hours in the Emergency Department (ED) with a couple of the head nurses. They really are heroes. It's no surprise that there are so many tv shows about hospitals and the ER. Next week we're supposed to make notes and observe the processes in the ED including during a 'Resus', or resuscitation, when a patient comes in critical (which happens every day) and a team of nurses and doctors drop everything and greet the ambulance as it pulls in. They have every range of patient you can imagine. Our first time down security was stationed at one of the beds for a known 'bad' patient they expected to have a violent situation with, and apparently were not disappointed.

As for the weekend, just a calm one, back home Claire was excited to bake (pictured) some banana bread (pictured - yes, we really did put a picture of a loaf of bread on our blog - Claire is very proud)... Looks good to me! Not sure if it will make it until Sunday's breakfast or not, and that's only a few hours away!

A Wet and Windy Weekend Away

Last weekend I took Tim away for a belated birthday treat. I booked us into a B&B (Takamatua Estate), halfway between Matakana and Leigh, about 90mins drive north of Auckland. I recommend it if you're ever up that way - Michelle and Harald have a fabulous home and are wonderful hosts. On Saturday morning we visited the Matakana Farmers Market, popular with locals and Aucklanders (pictured). It was pouring down with rain, so we didn't expect it to be very busy. However, much to our surprise, it was buzzing with a lively crowd. We bought ourselves some locally produced olive oil, some gourmet mustard, and two types of peanut butter. After stopping to appreciate the live jazz band (pictured), we continued on to browse some of the local art and gift shops. In one stationary shop we found a poster of the London Underground map, which we are excited about putting up in the flat to remind us of home - its easier to view the tube map with fondness when you don't have to travel on it to work everyday! We also found a poster map of the world, which we're also planning to put up, and stick pins in the countries we've visited. We stopped for a coffee at a local pottery gallery, and then headed to Leigh, where I'd booked us in to the microbrewery for a tour and tasting. Peter, the owner/brewer of the Sawmill Brewery, took us through the entire brewing process, and gave us a taste of all the beers their produce. Tim liked the Pilsner best.

Tag team blogging. It's the latest thing - there's not even an acronym for it yet. This is Tim writing now... I did like the pilsner the best. Claire definitely raised the bar on the bday presents. I look forward to returning the all expenses paid destination birthday weekend for Claire in October. Saturday evening we went back to the Sawmill Cafe for dinner, more beer (for me anyway), and a live band. A Kiwi reggae group. Hard to top that. The wind was blowing though, harder and harder, and about the eighth time the power went out it stayed out. The band was good though, they found a couple acoustic guitars and played on under the candle light (pictured) for a memorable evening. We made it back through the storm, and our b&b hosts left port and freshly baked cookies and candles out for us in our private sitting room.

The wind was still providing 60+ mph gusts in the morning, although the rain had subsided, so we went down for a walk on the beach (pictured). The wind was clipping off the top of the waves as they crested blowing mist high into the air. The surf was about the roughest I've seen, but that only seemed to encourage the kite surfers to come out. Not the best picture, but you can get a scale for how big the waves are if you can make out the man surfing.

Had to drive back early though, and get ready for my first day of work. I can't quite remember what the expression is about paybacks, but as I patronizingly snapped a photo of Claire on her first day or work, she got one of me (pictured).

No more big adventures planned in the next couple of weeks, unless you count a Saturday spent curtain shopping. Some things even moving across the world cannot be escaped.

You put your left leg in; you put your left leg out

You do the Hokey ...???

Never have I been in such a heated argument (not involving politics or religion) where everyone had a different answer and everyone was certain he/she was right. So, what comes after Hokey?

Well, in New Zealand - we'll call this #4 of the list of upside-down things here - the answer is Hokey Tokey. When clearly, it is Pokey. Actually, that's only true in North America. In the U.K., claims Claire, it's Cokey.

Whatever you'd like to call it, I think Claire and I agree, it feels like we have spent our first six weeks in Auckland doing the Hokey Pokey. Since our last post, Claire's started work, I've found a job with the auckland district board of health, we've furnished our flat, received all of our stuff from Lonodn, and just yesterday bought ourselves a car. I've also played in two concerts with the Auckland Symphony (pictured above the lobby before our concert and the full choir and symphony), and we've had our first house guest, Sejal, who has a few more months of travel ahead of her before returning to London.

Unfortuntately, the beautiful pictures are a bit hard to come by for this post, as we've spent more time in Auckland's variety of discount shops (The Warehouse, Mitre 10, and Briscoes) than visiting the many natural beauties of New Zealand. Although, after an interview at Villa Maria (pictured), Claire and I went back to sample thier wines and pick up a few bottles at the big wine sale.

Now that we're nearly settled, Claire is taking me away this upcoming weekend in our new car (pictured, our 2005 Honda CRV) to a surprise destination as a belated birthday present. So next time around, we should have some more interesting photos.

Hopefully the weather will be good for us. Sun and showers seem to run on a 30 minute cycle here some days. Usually the sun is out just long enough to lure us out to get soaked by the next shower that comes along. The benefit, I suppose, is that everything is green and we often have rainbows (pictured from our kitchen porch).

Backwards, Clockwise or Counterclockwise.

Honestly, I still don't know. Back in the old days they probably had simple drains on sinks, and toilets swirled when they were flushed, but now, there are jets, screens, filters, and all sorts of 'modern' designs that prevent us from being able to verify the oft' asked question - "is it true that water swirls the other way around going down a drain in the southern hemisphere?"

We'll have to defer to Mr. Science on that one.

So, technically speaking to most of you reading this Claire and I are upside-down. I can't really tell you all about toilets flushing, but I have observed a few peculiarities:

1.) Observant is not an adjective that would be typically used to describe me. So when I observe something, usually it's a near-traumatic experience. Like the car wreck I nearly just had yesterday. Yes, they drive on the 'wrong' side of the road here. Left, just like England, but as it turns out, I've got that one under control. In New Zealand, they have some odd rules - demonstrated by the picture (the bold line has the right-of-way). If you are turning left, and someone is turning right in front of you, you yield. We're both very happy for the ABS breaks on our rented Toyota starlight.

2.) Upside-down roles. In London, I worked. Claire did, well, other stuff. It seems now that we're on the opposite side of the Earth, we've switched roles. Congrats Claire! Nice work on landing a good job contract. Claire starts on Tuesday. I believe the modern term is 'sugamama.' (Yes, Mom, I do actually have an interview next week - don't worry)

3.) Wine it seems, is harder to drink in New Zealand than it is in London. I don't know about toilets draining, but wine just doesn't go down the same. There are eight bottles of Sauvignon Blanc in the fridge and, oh... no seven bottles... wait, five... no, down to three. I take it back, I was wrong. The NZ wines are excellent, much easier to drink. (we had to do research for my potential Villa Maria interview after all)

Really though, we've had a nice couple of weeks. Yes, there have been a few dents, but when we haven't been shopping for curtains, or scanning Trademe for furniture, we've had a good time here.

We were thrilled to discover that those warehouses - the eyesore of the view off our front porch - is actually a weekend French market (pictured)! Had a great time shopping around and Claire made friends with the honey man and bucheress.

Later in the week, we met up with a couple of friends I knew from 4c Associates in London (pictured at 'Soul' in the Viaduct - the name for one of the marinas - with Sejal (from London) & Charlene (from Auckland)).

Sejal is spending a few months traveling and is spending a month in NZ. A week ago we took a 20 minute ferry ride to a nearby island, and spent an afternoon hiking up Rangitoto, a young (few hundred years old) but deceased volcano. Pictures is Claire and me with Sajel at the top with Auckland in the background. Sejal will be our first overnight guest in a few weeks, and we've nearly got a furnished apartment.

I'm just over one week away from my first performance with the Auckland Symphony Orchestra. Our concert was at one point the featured 'arts & theatre' show in New Zealand on ticketmaster. I'm not sure I've ever played in a show sold on ticketmaster.

Well, it's time for me to go help Claire with dinner, or at least help her eat it. Goodnight from the other side of the world, where kiwis never quite fly.

Home sweet home

Another rather exhausting day... Our pockets are a bit lighter after doing the equivalent of a walmart shopping spree to get all the little things we need for our apartment. The day started off beautifully, and Claire and I decided that we do in fact still like the place we've rented. Here's a bunch of pictures: Our villa - we have the top floor and don't miss our palm tree!, Reception with fire place and piano, master bedroom with Chaise Lounge (definitely planning a george castanza pic on that one see http://farm1.static.flickr.com/19/116450033_4266fb5229_o.jpg), kitchen, back sitting room/hallway with old stove, and view out of our small spare bedroom.

The view from the front of our apartment overlooks the tops of a combination of houses and industrial buildings, but I was excited to discover that from our bedroom we actually can see a bit of water in the harbor and watch boats go by.

We also have a fantastic back porch off of the kitchen that overlooks a nature reserve. And our only bathroom is very large - possibly bigger than our spare bedroom - and has heated floors and was nicely redone with a separate shower and a era appropriate claw foot bathtub.

Well, it's time for us to go get some dinner. Ironically, we're going to pop down to an irish pub for their sunday special - complete with a jug of ale.