YEEEHHAAAAH!
we finally have broadband! it's taken a wee while since arriving but we have web and phoneline now. aah, the bliss of reading emails at your leisure at home. you don't know it 'til you miss it. so, before I forget, these are our contact details for the next 4 months:
25 south belt, methven, 8353, new zealand
tel: +64 (0) 3 303 3144
the post code seems to do most of methven so not really sure how uselful it is, but there we go.
so there's been a lot going on, quite a bit of which is on fran's website (link on sidebar). it's been a different kind of experience for me, being in this little town and trying to meet people and make friends. I do have a few though... Debby who lives round the corner from me who's married with 2 gorgeous young kids, who at times has been my only good reason for returning to methven, and Annie who co-pastors the new life church in methven and is also very lovely and encouraging and lives in this gorgeous house past the drop zone at the edge of the mountains in the countryide.
I've had some really amazing moments, like going for a bike ride a few weeks ago on a hot sunny day and realising I could hear the sound of the corn crackle in the field as it ripened... I didn't even know it did that! the countryside around methven is kind of idyllic rural with mountains in the background so it's very pleasant to get out and about. I've also had some really amusing NZ moments, like road works where they re-surface the road all at once and get you to just drive around all the machinery on gravel or go off roading along the wide grass verge instead... only in new zealand.
fran and I were able to go away last week (before the 'experienced' skydivers arrived to join the course) and went to the west coast of the south island. it was fantastic, I realise just how much I love the sea. miles of long deserted beaches, moody cloudy skies and lush ferny forested mountains rising straight up from the coast. I loved it. we found this one little bay we liked, with a very funky award winning cafe which we managed to have breakfast, lunch and dinner in on different days. fran took his kayak and went out on the water for the first time since his operation and I did a lot of beach combing. we've also started wild camping more which really helps make a holiday cheap! on the way back through arthur's pass we stopped at picnic stop only to find there was a cave system with signboards informing tourists how to go through them, so we went for a hour or so though this beautiful limestone cave in crystal clear water & pebbles on the bottom with the light of one not so bright headtorch. it was really good fun. then afterwards we built dams in the stream and enjoyed the sun.
right, better get on with my day now. will try really hard to get some pics up... oh, technology!
love to you all, jen x
we finally have broadband! it's taken a wee while since arriving but we have web and phoneline now. aah, the bliss of reading emails at your leisure at home. you don't know it 'til you miss it. so, before I forget, these are our contact details for the next 4 months:
25 south belt, methven, 8353, new zealand
tel: +64 (0) 3 303 3144
the post code seems to do most of methven so not really sure how uselful it is, but there we go.
so there's been a lot going on, quite a bit of which is on fran's website (link on sidebar). it's been a different kind of experience for me, being in this little town and trying to meet people and make friends. I do have a few though... Debby who lives round the corner from me who's married with 2 gorgeous young kids, who at times has been my only good reason for returning to methven, and Annie who co-pastors the new life church in methven and is also very lovely and encouraging and lives in this gorgeous house past the drop zone at the edge of the mountains in the countryide.
I've had some really amazing moments, like going for a bike ride a few weeks ago on a hot sunny day and realising I could hear the sound of the corn crackle in the field as it ripened... I didn't even know it did that! the countryside around methven is kind of idyllic rural with mountains in the background so it's very pleasant to get out and about. I've also had some really amusing NZ moments, like road works where they re-surface the road all at once and get you to just drive around all the machinery on gravel or go off roading along the wide grass verge instead... only in new zealand.
fran and I were able to go away last week (before the 'experienced' skydivers arrived to join the course) and went to the west coast of the south island. it was fantastic, I realise just how much I love the sea. miles of long deserted beaches, moody cloudy skies and lush ferny forested mountains rising straight up from the coast. I loved it. we found this one little bay we liked, with a very funky award winning cafe which we managed to have breakfast, lunch and dinner in on different days. fran took his kayak and went out on the water for the first time since his operation and I did a lot of beach combing. we've also started wild camping more which really helps make a holiday cheap! on the way back through arthur's pass we stopped at picnic stop only to find there was a cave system with signboards informing tourists how to go through them, so we went for a hour or so though this beautiful limestone cave in crystal clear water & pebbles on the bottom with the light of one not so bright headtorch. it was really good fun. then afterwards we built dams in the stream and enjoyed the sun.
right, better get on with my day now. will try really hard to get some pics up... oh, technology!
love to you all, jen x
