Christmas dinner

Rob and Emma and Virginia.  Great conversations. Lots of good wine. Beautiful weather.

Gemini out at last!

Finally Noel has taken the Gemini out of the trailer. He needed to rotate the wheels and check a few things and then, amazingly, put it back in the trailer.

Jacaranda tree in full bloom

The Jacaranda tree looks brilliant and everyone is happy!

Christmas day.

Very hot day. Perfect for family lazing about.

We started with a big breakfast followed by lovely walk with views. Back for champagne and gin and tonics and finally food: whitebait, ham with accompliments and strawberry deserts all round. Lots of interesting presents. A perfect day!

Ready for Christmas

Lots to do before the family arrived for Christmas: Rob and Emma from Sydney and Virginia from Melbourne.

We all went out for dinner but without Noel who was still working in Palmerston North.  He flew back on Friday.

Pepper in the lake

While Noel stayed behind for another week of hard work, Pepper and I drove back from Palmerston North and stayed overnight at Lake Taupo. Very hot day. He had a great swim in the lake and I had a delicious meal with lake views.

Hard graft!

The demolition crew are working really hard. Electricians, drainlayer, air con people and roofers.

A week in Palmy.

We packed up the motorhome again and taking Pepper with us, drove south to Palmerston North.  We are project managing the work of preparing the building for two new tenants. It is major!

Another year gone!

Another lovely soiree at Barry and Nicola's. Hot weather. Nice to relax and catch up with everyone.

New you, happy boy!

A 1992 Porsche 964 in midnight blue. All the character of our old Porsche with a few more modern amenities. Fun!

Red sports car sold!

Noel developed and built this rear engine race car with a Honda turbo engine some years back. It started every time and won almost as often. He also won the constructors prize two years running.

It has languished for years while he rebuilt and raced the Gemini. It is now time for it to go to a new home in Christchurch, where we think it will be well looked after.

It was a huge part of Noel's life and we were quite sad to see it go.

Quick trip to Christchurch.

David's 46th birthday and we headed down to help them celebrate. Yes, David likes cheesecake!

They are doing such a good job of fixing earthquake damage and renovating two houses. Perfectionists, both David and Satu.

I spent a wonderful 3 hours with my childhood friend, Heather. We sat in a cafe on Sumner Beach enjoying beautiful weather.

The Return of the Gemini

After 73 days, Noel finally collected the Gemini. The trailer was offloaded in Singapore and had to wait for another ship. Not good for everything packed tightly and there will be a lot of cleaning up when we eventually get time.

Back in the motorhome!

Our motorhome arrived back two weeks ago. We still have things to do to it for NZ compliance but decided to use it anyway.

In Taupo. Fabulous weather although cold.  Woke up beside the lake. What could be better?

Pepper on his maiden voyage and coping well.  Pleased to be with us.

Good to be home.

Sun is shining although Noel thinks it's cold.

Garden looks good. Pepper looks good.

Lots to do in the office but Pepper is supervising!

Smog in Hong Kong

Couldn't see much at all because of smog. Good to have a hotel room. Start the next leg of the journey rested and refreshed.