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Published: November 24th 2010
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bird
in a tree! Day 24 - Wednesday.Rest day from training. Thank goodness, not sure I could have done anything today!! Went to Dawsons Falls, Stratford to see the Shakespeare tower and the Possom factory.
Was feeling totally exhausted after the training schedule from yesterday, and also feeling a bit weak and feeble, most likely due to the diet meaning I was burning fat whilst training. Just felt a bit rubbish, really sore throat and snotty as anything, so was feeling a bit sorry for myself first thing. Maia was also feeling a bit ropey and was off school and, with Mark at work, once Helen got back from taking Tahlia out for a bit, and the three of us who remained watching Wall-E, which is always good fun, this meant that there was a car available to use, so Helen and I went out for a bit of a day trip. Headed down towards Stratford, had a coffee and finally got to a bank to get some money out of the bank, and visited the $2 shop, which is now the $2 and 5$ shop! That’s inflation for you. Also, the fact that the exchange rate is $2 to every £1, whereas
moiuntain
closer up this time, we're part of the way up! it was $3 to every £1 last time and NZ is actually really expensive! For example, margarine is about $4 a tub, which is way more expensive than the UK and, considering absolutely everything here seems to be dairy based, it was a bit of a shock! Likewise, as I was topping up with some more fruit and veg for the diet, I discovered my bunch of grapes had cost $11!!!! That’s over £5 for a bunch of grapes, so, all of a sudden, its becoming a far more expensive trip than I’d planned for, or budgeted for, so we’re already looking to curtail the more expensive trip to the South Island; even that is expensive, as the ferry, a 3 hour trip each way, is over $500 We’re still looking out for a car, and we’ve got a couple of options still open, but that’ll be another sizeable bite out of the budget apple.
Anyway, it was a short drive from Stratford to Dawson Falls information centre, and out first trip up Mt Taranaki. This is amazing because you enter a treeline of forest like proportions when you enter the national park, its all protected. There are also
helen
on the viewing platform kiwis living in the forest so it’s a dog free environment, and there are cattle grids at the entry to the park, but its still a shock to go from open fields and grazing cattle to thick forest in about 30 yards!! The road twists and turns as it climbs the mountain, and, before too long, we had reached the end of the road and the Dawson Falls Information Centre…. which was closed, as was the café, and so it was a short visit to the lookout post, to check out the views. Only open Thursday to Sunday, so we’ll have to go back another day.
The remote mountain of Ruapau was so clear today it was amazing, looked rather magical as you could just see the snow topped peak, which seemed to float above the horizon as if by magic. We then headed down to the falls themselves, a 5 minute walk down some steps from the top, and well worth the steep steps to get to it, as it was flowing nicely following the recent rain. Took a few pics before we headed back to the car and headed down the mountain again, and then off to
ruapehu
in the distance, looking mighty impressive the possom factory, a place where they manufacture all sorts of clothing and so on from possom skins and furs. Whilst being endangered and protected in Australia, the possom is a national pest in NZ. Apparently around 30 were imported in the 1800’s and their population peaked at around 100 million at one point, as the habitat is perfect for them to survive and thrive. Sadly this is the reason most of the kiwis have been killed off, and so killing of these rodents is actively encouraged; there are some places where you can hand over ones you have killed yourself to get a cash payment! Anyway, with so many around, there are one or two people who are producing items using them. Slippers, hats, coats and jackets, and, with the clever use of merino wool alongside the possom fur itself, jumpers and cardigans. They also sold just the skins, which are incredibly soft and, apparently, we were told by an old chap who was in the shop at the same time, apparently the possom, the alpaca and the polar bear are all similar in that they have hollow fur, which is designed to prevent freezing, apparently the fur will
the sea
close to the coast! resist freezing down as far as -40 degrees, making them perfect for colder climates, and they had antartic clothing on display too.
Following that, we saw that it was about 20 minutes to 3pm, and, at 3pm, Stratford has a large tower which has some rather cheesy statutes which pop out of various windows and some of Romeo and Juliette is piped out of loud speakers!! It only lasts about 5 minutes but it is really corny! Took a few pics, clearly! From there it was time to head to shopright to get some more fruit and veggies, as well as a massive potato, which was on the menu today, and very much appreciated! Then Mark got back and we just chilled out for the rest of the evening, which was very good. Mark has managed to get us a viewing of one of the car options tomorrow afternoon so, with a bit of luck, we'll be sorted for a car in the next day or so! 😊
A quick apology to those of you subscribed to get updates on new posts, as i've just done 10 at once. we should now be up to date
pole
its NOT a totem pole but its that kind of thing! and will do our best to get these out every day or every other day in future, sorry! Hope you're enjoying them, do send us your comments and let us know what you think
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Dad
non-member comment
You think your day was hard!
You think you've got problems. Gill's just back from school marking books now and is reduced to hysterical laughter. The source I will share. "Joseph lister is a German killer he made every chrimas horrible by invading the hole World. he invented an antiseptic to make it better After surgey" (child's grammar, and punctuation!) Gill has written 'I think you might have got your research mixed up'. Keep smiling, you could be teaching ten year olds. Dad