Summer!!

Summer days and hair cuts

I've been sick for a few days, but now I'm finally well again. And just in time cause today was such a lovely day! 

Farrah, proudly posing showing off her new (and first ever) haircut.

The personal hairdresser gets to be in one picture as well, hurray!

That's all folks 

cheers 

Taupo and Huka Falls

So I had a weekday off and wanted to do something, so I drove to Taupo. From Murupara it's about an hour and a half and I thought it was about time I'd go there.

First I went to the Huka Falls.

 Here I met a really nice CS-guy (couch-surfer) and a German girl staying with him. After talking with them for a while I drove towards town and stopped at a lookout to admire the view.

and guess who I ran in to? Zoran (the CS -guy) again!

Since I was there alone I figured I might as well invite myself for lunch and we had a great time!

pretty cool place aye?

Kate and Zoran

Zoran has heaps of fun things to do in Taupo, mountain-boarding is one of them. You strap yourself into it, and either go down a hill or hold on to a kite and let the wind push you along the beach! 

From mid-November I'll be staying with Zoran and whatever other couch-surfers come along. Then I'll come back to Murupara and celebrate Christmas with my kiwi-family! A perfect deal really, because there is not too much to do in Murupara. Haha

Post I forgot to make about the South Island

All the girls back in Glenavy

MacLeay, Ava, Quinn, Ella, Farrah and Marnie

Me and Farrah, picture taken in Dunedin, at Michelle's mums place.

In Dunedin I took Farrah to the museum 

where we spent most of the time in the discovery and butterfly park!

On our way home we spent the night in Christchurch, where we found this interesting restaurant. The place had collapsed due to the earthquake, but the "smash point" opened once the remains of the building had been removed. 

Farrah putting mums lipstick on at Christchurch's airport! very pretty

Earthquake and Farrah-in-a-basket

First time I saw Farrah, when Skyping with the Stevenson's, Michelle carried her to the webcam in a basket. 

Now, approx 5 months later, I see this:

Such a cutie..

.. and quite a bit bigger than last time I saw her in that basket!

Today Farrah's going to the doctor to get her cast removed and the wires in her arm taken out.

Yesterday we had an earthquake, not too far from where we live. It was a 5,1 on the scale, so as the kiwis put it; Quite a good one. Not the first since I got here, but the first one that I actually felt. Was sitting on the floor with Farrah in my lap, and could feel the house rocking back and forth. Really cool, and I kept rocking Farrah so she wouldn't notice it! 

Playing beach and icing biscuits

Steep streets and skipping men

The morning after my night at the backpackers me and Colin, an Irish guy who also stayed there, went to the steepest street in the world. It is Boldwin Street and man, it is really steep. Of course we had to go up it and take some cool pictures :)

Woohoo 

Colin having a well deserved break at the top. You can see my bottle of water on the rubbish bin, I forgot it there and realized it halfway down.. no I did not walk up that hill a second time! bye bye bottle

Colin taking some pictures

This man was both hilarious and impressive. He went up and down at least 4 times since we got there, and then jogged away. The hilarious part was that he was skipping down the hill like a schoolgirl in an old american movie. Haha I'm laughing just thinking about it. So of course we had to take some sneak-photos of him :) 

Wiie!

Ice-skating and Pool

Ella came with us to Dunedin, staying a night with Michelle's mum.
I took Ella and MacLeay ice-skating. Heaps of fun and they
were both very impressed by my wobbly attempts to move forward!

The ice-sparkling trio <3

Ella and MacLeay, quickly getting the hang of skating

We underestimated the coldness of the rink, so I took a break giving my scarf to MacLeay.. 

..and my sweatshirt to Ella! 

In the evening I stayed a night at a Backpackers and met some nice people. This is a Taiwanese girl called Yen Ching Lu who I shared dormitory with. We had a lot of fun playing pool at the pool-house. 

I'm really not that good, but I keep learning!

Becoming a true Swiwi and Glenavy

Me and Michelle went shopping and that day I became a true Swiwi (Swedish Kiwi) !
My jandals were making my feet sore so I took them off and walked around barefoot on the
pavement, and inside the Supermarket! Not even ashamed, Swiwi til the end :)

This is the house we stayed at in Glenavy. 

Marnie and Quinn playing with the treadmill..

.. it's a lot of fun, apparently!

Dexter, also called noodles

became my new friend immediately. Such a sweetie.

Cute girls and Riverstone

At the South island we went to stay in Glenavy with a lovely family with three girls. We had a lot of fun and one day Fiona, Michelle and me took all the kids to Riverstone, a restaurant that was voted New Zealands best restaurant last year. 

The playground at Riverstone. 

Ella, Quinn and MacLeay. Ella is 9 and Quinn almost 4.

Quinn and Farrah eating ice-cream provided by Michelle!

A fun day indeed