Happy Monday morning

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Hi everyone,

As you can see we are down at Kaikoura on the East Coast. We travelled down from Picton to Moteuka near Nelson middle of last week; it peed with rain the whole way! Great pity as we know from previous experience the views are usually quite spectacular as the road takes you up over the mountains. Can't win them all.

As we got nearer to Nelson we started looking for camp sites ... we could write a book about 'camp sites we have known and loved ... or not'). I'd picked one out of the guide which looked quite promising and fortunately we decided we'd check loos, showers etc before booking in. Showers were communal, nothing unusual, we had met these before with individual cubicles. Not this time!! I strolled into the communal area and low and behold there was this wizened ( and I do mean wizened in every sense!!!! yes. I did look!!) old man starkers having a shower. He also had no teeth!! Now why couldn't it have been a Brad Pitt lookalike. On reading another guide later, discovered it was a 'clothes optional' site. And no, we didn't stay:-) Not into specator sports!!

Stayed in Moteuka a few days as John has been plagued with toothache and in the end he had to visit a dentist. He's just finished his course of antibiotics and is free from pain. Will need to get it sorted properly whehn we get hone. Thank goodness, he can now have a drink again ... it's been a tough few days as being the good and dutiful wife that I am, I joined him in his alchohol-free 3 days. But off to wine tasting when we have finished here.
All from me for now ... love to you all. I will hand him over to the man himself xxxx

Greetings dear reader,
Once more the intrepid explorers plunged into the N.Z. jungle. The sounds of the ciacadas rose to a crescendo as the forest canopy closed over their heads. Weighed down with their backpacks containing innumarable inexplicable items of equipment - ropes, karabiners, belay-devices, and quick draws they staggered along tracks made by the passage of many bare feet.Perspiration streamed from their brows as the hot sun blazed down on them.
This time the main body of the party had learned from experience and were wearing their proper jungle footwear. Rock faces towered above them reaching far into the sky. Eventually the leader (an ugly sort of chap, in a handsome way) called a halt. Approaching the expedition were two strangers. Their hard tough faces and steely glare told their own story. The leader, John, spoke to them " Excuse me mate, can you tell me where the easy climbs are ? " The reply came, " Near the sheet house ". " Okay near the sheet house " repeated John to get it clear into his mind. This was slightly puzzling as our party were not completely familiar with local accents, and he was French. However near the toilet they found the track they were looking for.
Previously they had found a hidden small rock face, hitherto undiscovered by mankind, and in desperation they, or one of them , scaled the dizzy heights watched by three local birds, Tooeys, usually quite timid but on this occasion amazed at this strange species so far from civilisation.
To continue - the expedition looked in amazement at little children aged between four and seven as they scampered up and down huge rock faces, some of them in bare feet. Their father , a mountaineer/climber/ski-guide encouraged them with cries of " Schnell, rousse, achtung dumkoff " and such endearments (not strictly true).
Anyway, to put it another way -
Haven't done a lot went climbing, had a good time, cool.

next time - get ready for The Magnificent Two go surfing and get Tumble dried.
Love from us here xxx

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