Vivienne's christmas holidays

From: Vivienne
To: Mike
Date: Sun, 21 Jan 2001 09:05:45 +1300
Subject: Happy Holidays

Ain't he cool?

Benj in a hot pool

It's Sunday morning, the boys are all asleep and I thought it was a great opportunity to E-mail my friends and family. What a surprise eh? Bet you thought I'd lost your address (this is also by way of a bit of a test to see if I have the correct destination). 

We are recently back from ten days camping up north (remember we are bas-akwards: north is warm, south is cold), leaving on New Years Eve and returning last Monday. John had a fortnight off, but is now back a week, and on call. Doubtless next week he'll doing "earlies" and starting at 7am. At least it'll be a short one (we have a local holiday - Wellington Anniversary - on Monday). 

Hogmanay was celebrated at the working farm / campground / adventure park where we spent our first holiday then feeling the need of Sun, Sand and Surf, we headed up to Ohiwa Bay, on the Bay of Plenty. Where we pitched our tent and relaxed for the next 5 days, doing absolutely nothing. A real lazy time, where the highlight of our day was strolling across the white sand beach to swim in the gentle surf, build the odd castle and soak up the rays. The older couple in the neighbouring tent have been coming up for years, and knew all the best places to find tuatua's (an indigenous shell fish) and mussels and little rock oysters, and kept feeding me ('cause the other philistines in our camp refused to even try them) steamed and smoked delicacies. Scrum!!! Toxic Blue Green Algae? What's that??? (shell fish collection - particularly mussels - has been banned up and down the North Island to the presence of this noxious weed infiltrating the mussel beds, though apparently the Bay of Plenty is unaffected).   

I've attached a photo of the trip, hoping your mailer can handle them. If you have problems let me know and I won't do it again. 

Better go and roust That Boy from his bed. We are supposed to be popping around for morning tea at a neighbour's (No.9) before another (No.15) gives birth to her third (a second girl). Unlike our street in Edinburgh (Durham Road South), where Benjamin was, for a long time, the only baby (and John and I was The Young Couple!!!), Huntleigh Park Way is full of kids, mostly boys (of the 17 we know personally, only 3 - soon to be 4 - are girls) and all between 6 and six weeks. 

I'll write again soon...

Love from

Vivienne