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Published: January 23rd 2007
Well......With the holiday season now behind us, we've really had a chance to settle into everyday life....especially now that Melissa is working! Yes, she got a job as a CSO with The National Bank of New Zealand, Auckland branch. Taking the train into downtown everyday and working on Queen street...which runs right through downtown....right in the heart of all the action and she is loving it! The banking here is a little "old school" compared to Canada, but she's adapting. She calls it "Retro Banking" of NZ. Dennis is also still loving his job and all the benefits that come with it. The people that he works with are great and he gets to drive all ove the latest and greatest cars that Nissan has to offer. It definetly is a different world than selling boats in Calgary, but he is adjusting well.
Even with all our working and "routine" of everyday life, I'm sure none of you will surprised to know that our life is still anything but boring! We had a great night out a couple weeks ago when we went to see Cirque du Soleil's "Varekai". We went VIP with the "tapis rouge" (red carpet) tickets.
Leah & Blake over for a BBQ
First guests at our house other than family!It was amazing. We got to go an hour before the show to the VIP tent where we were served what seemed to be endless drinks and hors d'oeurves...all included in our ticket price. The tent was decorated with funky couches and bars and great visual effects. Our seats were front and centre to all the action, and at intermission we were back in our tent for more drinks and deserts. And our advice for anyone that has the chance to see Varekai....GO! It was one of the best, colorful, exciting shows both of us have ever seen.
Last weekend, we decided to spend some time exploring the western beaches just outside of Auckland. It's great, about 40 min from the centre of the city is dense, lush rain forest...extending to the coast and some of the best surf beaches of New Zealand! We went and checked out Piha Beach which is known for it's strong rip-tides and great surf. Because of how rough the waters can be, it is probably one of the beaches with the highest number of life guards on duty at one time. They have all kinds of toys for their rescues...sea-doos, zodiacs, surfboards and
quads. With all the action, it is also where they film a New Zealand reality show based on life guards, surfers and surf rescues. So there is always quite a bit of action going on. We can't wait until we have a weekend to get some boards and work on our surfing skills that we barely touched on this past summer in Tofino.
We are really looking forward to this weekend, which happens to be a long one. So we both have 3 days off. We are going to head north towards the Bay of Islands, spending some time camping with friends and maybe doing a little snorkelling and surfing. Anything that gets us out in the sun! After that the time is going to fly-by and we have Melissa's Mom and her boyfriend Gary coming to visit just before Melissa's birthday. We've got some time off work for that and are going to do some touring around with them. It will be nice to have a visit from home! Hope you are all doing well in Canada and aren't too snowed-under. 😉 Keep in touch, we love to hear from you!
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Bob and Jaye
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You lucky dogs
Oh we are soooo jealous. All that surf and other fun stuff just makes a person want to leave Canada to endulge oneself. The pictures are awesome and your experiences are exciting and the car......not too shabby. Still crappy weather here but the weekend is suppose to be sunny. Hoping to pull out the Harley for a little home town fun. Also passed on your website to Dominic and Marie-Michelle. Take care...we love you both