The 1st Anniversary

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Hi guys,

Hope your all well and have coped alright with not having any blog updates to break up the monotouness of your days!!??. I know it must have been hard and at times you probably wondered if they'd ever be anymore entries....but fear not because here it is....an entry, wahoo I hear you all scream from the comfort of your desk chairs.

Well believe it or not it has been over a year already since 'the wife' and I tied the knot and what an adventure it has been already. There's been tears and laughter and heartbreak too but we're still here and loving every moment of married life.

We're still working our little jobs in Queenstown, I'm loving the fact I've got no work stress but Beck is stressing because she doesn't have the stress of her usual occupation. I think she is feeling a little homesick, has a big yearning to finally get to the 'lucky country' and is not feeling tested on a daily basis. No worries though mate (pronounced in my soon-to-be acquired Aussie twang), as I whisked her away for a long weekend to celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary....and this is how it went..........

We drove the 5 hour jaunt to Christchurch in my Bosses Jeep Cherokee so fuel consumption was alarming (but no expense spared here!). It was a pleasant enough drive apart from the accidental killing of a poor rabbit. Those who know me well are aware that it is beyond my capabilities to execute wasps, ants & flys, let alone a poor Bugs Bunny type. However, I pulled myself through and the rest of the journey went without a hitch. We arrived at our swanky hotel to find the worlds biggest bed.....ahhhh bliss (thanks again to our Wedding Co-Ordinator, Susan who managed to get the hotel at a bargain price). Even Beck struggled to steal the duvet in the midst of the night (a skill only aqcuired since married life, I'm sure it is a wife's job to steal duvet's whilst the Husband hones his snooring abilities?). It wasn't long though till we dusted off the walking shoe's to prepare for something Beck has long been missing...yes you guessed......retail therapy. We soon purchased jeans, various beachwear items and for yours truly the preverbial Board shorts!. At this point I'd like to point out I haven't lost all sense of money matters / scrimping abilities, they were all at greatly reduced prices as winter is fast approaching in NZ so not much call for beachwear at the mo. We dined that evening on the strip which runs alongside the river front, with live music and indoor fire places we were well and truly settled. Of course this was all ruined by watching the live broadcast of Blues vs Villa!!! How romantic.

The next day was of course our actual anniversary. The surprise was let out to Beck, we would be driving 3 hours North to Kaikora to swim with wild Dusky Dolphins. Again the drive was breathtaking, windy and expensive. The weather upon arrival could not have been better which was just aswel as 'Mrs I M Cold' was already worried about the sea temperature!. We doned our stunning, figure hugging wetsuits (mine was 10 sizes too small & I resembled a scene straight from 'the Blob'). We lovingly stared at each other across the changing rooms, realising that we looked almost as hot as this time a year ago.

It was a short 20 min journey out on the boat till we reached the pod of dolphins. We were both taken aback at just how many there were, swimming freely without the slighest bit of distain for the boat that had just pulled up beside. Upon that we were told to jump in, swim around, sing, splash and generally make fools of ourselves, the aim being to entertain the dolphins. They began to swim over, under and around us from what seemed a matter of inches. I have to say that I soon forgot how cold the water was as we were experiencing what must be one of the most awesome, awe-inspiring things you could do in this lifetime. An experience I think neither of us will ever forget, I think the same may also be said for the dolphins upon hearing our array of annebriated-like noises and singing.

The next day we headed west down the coast of the South Island. More mountains, more spectacular views but yet more stomach turning winding roads. We were heading to Fox Glacier / Mount Cook, this promised to be a long and arduous journey so the insuing speeding ticket was merely a formality. More annoying was the fact it was dished out by a bloody 'Pommie' copper who was obviously a little upset that he chose to emmigrate only to end up on speed patrol in the arse end of knowhere! My crime........7 miles an hour over the speed limit, consider my ass reprimanded!

Anyway we soon arrived at our river side motel, a beautiful little pad which even came equiped with electric blankets (Best thing since sliced bread me reckons). In the morning we took a walk round lake Matheson which boasted some amazing views of snow capped Mount Cook. Then a short drive to see Fox Glacier before heading back to the dizzy bright lights of Queenstown, a depressing journey due to the impending thoughts of returning to our post-war era home / Museum where we were welcomed by the smell of old people, freezing cold rooms and no TV signal. Ahhhh, no place like temporary home.

Anyway not much else to report other than that. We've had some off roading expeditions with Matt 'n' Suz, been to feed Pigs, Goats, Deer and Alpacas (bit like llamas although an American girl thought it was a 'sort of donkey'?!) with Russ & Anne-Marie. We've also enjoyed many a picnic, fishing, lake swims and drunken sessions so not much different to Solihull really. Oh and did a skippers canyon jet boat ride which Beck got for free wahoooo. Off out this weekend to watch Russ play in the big local derby game so it'll be interesting to see how his noodle legs hold up! No news yet on our Aussie visas but we are leaving on the 30th June with Matt 'n' Suz regardless.......beach, sun, sand, BBQ's & cold beers straight from the eskie here we come.

Oh and as you can see once again this website won't allow me to upload the photo's but you can view 2 videos. If you wish to see corresponding photo's however you can cut and paste the following link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=37338&id=576642539


Again hope your all well, hope to see the Family in Oz very soon, glad Aunitie Linda's Op went OK.

Take care all, miss you all and hope to see everyone before you know it

All our love

Spoona & Becks xxxx

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Comments

[Kev]

Speeding Dolphins
The dolphins sound awesome. I want to do it now. I got a speeding ticket in South Africa and didn't even know until 3 months later when the car hire company took it off the credit card. I drove for 35 years without a speeding ticket until Darwin introduced cameras then I got 6 in a year. Kev x

[Ouaga]

Hurry up
Get yer arse away from those Pom NZ cops and come over! Oz is waiting for you cousin!