Boating on Blue Lake

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Helicopter Lesson

Dinghy Launch

We finally did it! We put the inflatable boat out on the water. It's supposedly a 3-person boat but they'd have to be very small people to all fit in. Fortunately the water in Blue Lake is lovely and warm at the moment, and it's really clean and fresh, so it wasn't a concern if we fell in, only for the camera.

Yes, the camera's a recent gizmo-gadget purchase to add to the ever-growing collection. It's primary purpose is to take mini movies of Steve's helicopter lessons, as a learning tool, as my other camera doesn't have a movie mode. That's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it! So, be prepared for more video postings (apologies in advance for the amateur editing and HUGE file sizes/ download times).

We're house-sitting at the moment, for a couple of days, for the boss of Astral Helicopters. Trevor the dog has been a good girl for us and the cat has given up on asking for food every hour - we've sussed her game. The view from the house of Lake Rotorua is fantastic!

It's very strange to be in a house after 3 months of living in the van. We've got used to the confines and the routine, got used to negotiating the use of the space. Now we've got rooms to run around in again, and a real bed to sleep in! Perversely, we're missing the van and it's limitations. What comes with the limitations is a rationing of what's necessary to get by (apart from all the gadget-gizmos of course) and an enjoyment of what we have. It's fantastic to be able to just shove everything away in the cupboards, drive off and park up wherever we fancy, with everything that we need accessible in the van.

Steve's happy with his progress in flying the helicopter - he can take off, hover for a bit, fly straight and land, so he's happy for now. He's going to do a few more lessons and then we're heading off from Rotorua, down south. We've got 10 weeks left in NZ, and we're ready to do a bit of touring.

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Comments

[Dom]

sulkin
just sat here reading your blog and sulkin................I wanna go now with you cos its just pissin down here,constant (litchie your looking grey as ) ;-)