A day out in Devonport

We're home again and adjusting to the cooler southern weather.

We stopped over again in Auckland for a few days with Sofi and Aaron and attended church with them on Sunday. I wanted to show you the altar table, dressed by one of the Pacific Island congregations. I thought it was so pretty I had to photograph it.

On Monday we spent the day over in Devonport - drove 40 minutes to get there and didn't leave the city. We small town people aren't used to those sort of distances in the urban area :)

Devonport is a nice little village with a lot of well kept colonial style houses and I suspect, a lot of money. I tried to take some pics of the houses with their delicate iron latticework and white picket fences but the car was travelling just a little too fast.

 

After some op shopping, where some of us found stuff to buy and others decided they couldn't fit anything else in their bags we found a nice wee cafe for lunch... 

...and then decided to go and explore the Naval Museum.

Below is a model of HMNZS Otago which my brother served on and went to Mururoa Atoll with when the New Zealand and Australian governments sent ships to protest the testing of nuclear weapons in the Pacific in the mid 1970s. The man in the photo is our then Prime Minister Norman Kirk who died in office a few years later.

And this is the medal awarded to all personnel taking part. The New Zealand Special Service Medal (Nuclear Testing). My brother didn't apply for his medal but his twin sister decided it belonged in the family and applied on his behalf - and received it!

Then it was time for coffee, or tea in my case, and a chat then we went outside to play :)

Captain and crew, Bob and Aaron.

Admiring the Auckland CBD across the harbour and rainbow spotting. We guessed it had been raining where we'd come from so a good day to get away for a while.

Aaron and I 'played' chess. Well Aaron did and I pretended to. I've only ever played on the computer and that was years ago so he finished me off in about three moves, mainly because the only moves I could remember were the pawns and then I went blank 😂

Then it was time to head home and pack our bags for the trip home the next day.

And guess who was waiting to board with us? Mary Poppins! was my initial thought but then - no, it's one of the Marx brothers!

I'll do my best to catch up with some blog reading over the next few days. Have a good week. 

Diana

A quick round up.

Last Saturday we flew out of Dunedin to Auckland on the first leg of our trip to see the family in Australia. Our youngest grand daughter and her husband took us to the airport and sat and had a coffee with us while we waited. It was a nice time.

 Aaron and Sofi met us in Auckland and we had a nice relaxed evening catching up on the news. On Sunday we all attended the church Aaron is pastoring. The congregation is small but welcoming and consists mostly of pacific islanders. Below is a picture of a tapa cloth on the wall. Tapa cloth is highly valued in the pacific communities and traditionally represented a woman's wealth. It is made from beaten bark.

After church we went out to Maraetai Beach for the afternoon. It was a really pleasant day and we enjoyed being able to sit there in the sun and watch everyone enjoying themselves, swimming no less. 

We had hot chips for a snack with a hot cuppa. 

And just as we thought we were going home Sofi thought it would be nice to show us Sylvia Park Mall, which is the largest one in the country. So we strolled around there for an hour or so and some of us spent money and some of us didn't :) It was a long day.

On Monday we did a trip down to Cambridge to visit our grandson who has a 'retro and collectibles' shop there. AMPERSAND is what he calls it. It wasn't open but he took us in to have a look...

...after which we all went for lunch and then strolled down to the local museum for a browse.

Below is a mosaic on the footpath. 

Cambridge is the main horse racing stud area of New Zealand. This is one of the horses, 'Mainbrace', very famous in its day.

Next day was a rest day :) it had been very busy then on Wednesday we flew to Aussie. Below is Bob coming out of the chair lift from the plane at our final destination - Mackay.

I'll leave you there until next time. 

Have a lovely week,

Keep well and enjoy yourselves,

Diana

Here and there

Well the kids have been here ... and now they're there. 

 It's been quite an emotional few weeks.

And I'm feeling a little blue.

My GKB came home from hospital and the next day was Aaron's ordination. He wasn't able to attend but I went with Jacqui our eldest daughter, our youngest daughter was away visiting her grandchildren for Easter or she'd have been there too. 

Aaron and Sofi after a relaxed but suitably formal service. 

Very proud Mum and sister.

There was a nice celebratory supper put on afterwards.

Aaron called in on his way home and donned his robes so his father could have his photo taken as well which was really thoughtful of him. We appreciated that :)

A couple of days later it was time for our house group to farewell them so we had raspberry chocolate cake before we started our study that evening. Yum. Very rich though.

Then at the weekend the family wanted to have a farewell get together and as Vanessa was home from her visit we gathered at her place. Nothing formal, we had takeaways - fish n chips, Chinese and pizza so there was something for everyone. Including the wee fellow.  Followed by GF cream puffs :)

Not long after Aaron and Sofi left on their trip north to their new home and appointments in Auckland.

They crossed on the ferry on a beautiful day, after the crossings had been cancelled for three days due to stormy weather. 

Out for a meal with Chloe, Atu and the kids in Palmerston North.

They drove up and stayed with friends and family or called in for coffee and a catchup on the way.

Catching up for coffee with Andrew in Cambridge,

and spending money in his shop before they left.

Then arriving in Auckland to discover their furniture hadn't arrived and was still on the wharf in Picton. I was quite pleased to hear that's where it was as we'd seen containers toppled on the wharf in Wellington due to the winds and hoped theirs wasn't among them.

So they're camping in their new home at the moment. Luckily they'd packed their camping gear in the car in anticipation of their first night being without furniture so are coping okay for now.

So they've been here, and now they're there. Not a five minute drive away but a two hour flight. Sigh.

Hoping everyone is well and enjoying the season, whatever it is. There is always beauty to be found in our surroundings if we only look.

Until next time,

Diana

Trying to catch up with myself

     It's been busy since Christmas what with my brother and his family and then two of my sisters arriving for holidays from Australia. Don't get me wrong though, it's been a fun busy time and I've enjoyed seeing everyone :)
     I've also been to a conference in Auckland and now find I'm "trying to catch up with myself". I had an opportunity one afternoon to go up to the viewing platform on the Sky Tower, so here are a few snaps taken that day.




Looking toward the harbor viaduct

from the bridge over to the tower.



The tower from the same bridge.

Part of Auckland Harbour from the viewing platform.

I managed to put my toes on the glass floor

 long enough for a photograph.

 That was long enough, then I was back to the

more solid looking area.

When we got back to street level there was a

Pacifica dance group performing.

A nice finish to the tower visit :)

I'll see you again when I can :)
Diana

A weekend away

I have just spent a weekend at a conference in Auckland, our largest city. I loved it - both the conference and the city. Auckland really gave me a buzz. With a population of 1.42 million it has more people than the entire South Island. Now the only times I have been to Auckland have been to conferences or to number one son's graduation. So I still haven't seen it. I intend to go back for a holiday in the not too distant future.

Auckland Town Hall

The weather was grey, stormy at times and blustery. And the temperatures weren't much different than we get at the bottom of the South Island. But when you're on holiday or in a conference hall who cares? Not me. On Sunday morning I was up early, rudely awakened with cramp in my foot and leg!
As my room mate was also awake we decided to go and join the other idiots, um, nice people who were over in Aotea Square for devotions. It was not too far away, just across the road in fact.

Aotea Square and the banners

They were using banners and I thought 'that's okay, I'll watch'. But that wasn't an option so I grabbed one and guess what? I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Then it was breakfast and back to the conference

That was a real ordeal, not that there was anything wrong with the speaker, he was great, but due to circumstances the night before I hadn't got to bed till the early hours of the morning. I opted out of the afternoon workshop and went back to my little bed in the hotel. By mid afternoon I'd finished snoozing and I really needed some fresh air so after a nice coffee I went for a walk and took in some of the views. So here are one or two photo's I took while out wagging, um walking.

Sir Dove-Myer Robinson, a former mayor of Auckland.

 Sir Dove-Myer Robinson was mayor of Auckland when I was young.

 He was a real character and a  man of the people.
Sadly missed when he retired from public life.

Waharoa

Waharoa is the Maori word meaning gateway. 

It is situated at the Queen Street entrance to Aotea Square. 

The gate was designed by Selwyn Muru, a Maori sculptor,
 and is a contemporary design built in wood and copper.

On the back is a Maori inscription which has been translated into English.

Knati to
whenguwhengu
ake irarona o
te awtipi haere
Pikimai e te ua
o te whatu
katakata mai
anora

Stop
your snivelling
creek bed
come rain hail
and floodwater
laugh again

The Sky Tower

The Sky Tower through the trees. This was as close as I got, I didn't really know how far away it was and didn't want to run myself late to meet the rest of the group when they finished. I've been in it before anyway when we came up for the graduation. And as you can see, the sun shone for me,

 the only time it did while we were there.I really felt blesssed that afternoon.

Santa and his reindeer atop the Whitcoulls verandah

I then took a stroll down Queen St. in the CBD where our hotel was situated and just so we don't forget that Christmas is coming the big man himself was standing on the Whitcoulls verandah, larger than life.

Christmas tree in the hotel atrium

And that my friends is a little glimpse of my weekend away in the big  smoke.

Go well until next time,

Diana