Boomrock A Great Day Out With Adrenalin Thrown In

Another great Grabone voucher purchased and the booking made to spend a day at Boomrock.  Had never heard of it but all that adrenalin stuff seemed like a good idea.

Knife throwing, you never know when you are going to need that sort of skill, kitchens can be frustrating places, archery - we all silently fancy ourselves as Maid Marians, clay shooting, fast cars, hot laps and time trials in the lastest BMW. Who wouldn't want to play.

Yep one of ten knives we get to throw into a wooden target. I managed to get two in which was disappointing but not nearly as easy as it sounds or looks. 

Now archery is much more my thing. Ten arrows in the howling southerly shooting at a target  - great. In fact I am going to work on hubby to build us one of these on our vacant paddack and take myself off to King and Henry to buy a left handed bow.

Wasn't such a hit with the clay shots - actually never got one.  First the gun was too heavy and so he changed the stock etc, then it kept jamming and now I have run out of excuses.  I have hit the clays on other occasions but not on this occasion.

Looks impressive I thought, don't you like the stance, lean forward on the front foot with all your weight, stock against the face  -  yeah yeah yeah still didn't hit a clay.

 But I did get arrows into the target and I like the feel of the bow, This I will do again, well like I said hope to build one at home.  It was so cold on Saturday that I was wearing 3 layers of merino and a jacket and still I was frozen. The wind came straight off Cook Strait, gorgeous views but exposed 

And yes I am the driver of the new racing BMW and the co-driver or "man in charge" told me to slow down I was going too fast. Well you put a woman in a car that can go from nothing to 100 kms in split seconds what is a girl meant to do.  I felt perfectly at home in the drivers seat.

These oilskins hanging in the entrance to the lodge where we had our 3 course lunch just took my fancy for a photo. Reminds one of a Speights advertisement.

And oh all that activity and three glasses of wine takes it out of a girl.

I've Decided I Too Can Be An Eventful Woman - a Wairarapa Version

I am going to share some photos and moments with you from the trip in February on the Great British Car Rally from Auckland to Christchurch.  Organised by the British High Commission to commemorate two years since the fatal earthquake of Feb 22nd. Hubby was not at all interested when I first raised it but when he thought I meant I would take a girlfriend and drive his beloved mini cooper that I bought for him, it was too much, he was going and go he did.   And enjoy immensely he did, we both did.

The mini parked at Auckland's Domain the morning of departure.

Me standing beside a jag I think, not an expert in cars, not event an enthusiast just like a chance to get out and meet people.

The crowds turned out at every town we stopped. The High Commissioner and her staff had it all organised down to the smallest detail.

 Every day we had the hottest weather, 30+ day after day, it made it so much nicer to be able to wear light silk tops.

We had every british vehicle from the latest jags to the old one in the middle, an Issetta

.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmctSZbWuog

At the end of the rally in Napier, day 3. The High Commissioner sadly got a ticket from the Police for speeding, she took it in good humour, I mean when you drive the latest jag your bound to let the foot get a bit heavy.

And of course there is no way you can pass Mangatainoka without stopping for a cold one. Tui of course.

My home town Masterton and it was reaching 34 degrees at midday. The cars stretched longer than the Main Street.

At Parliament for the official welcome.

 Whilst waiting for the ferry I tried one of the british cycles now imported and available here.

 The rally cars just went on and on, some had to catch early and later sailings at the preferred 2pm was booked out.

Breakfast at Blenheim winery

 And our last destination for the rally, Christchurch. The very modern and very effective mall developed from containers refurbished.

I would like to agree with the saying (lovely lady on the rally from Tauranga) but despite my loyalty to all things British you have to give it to the Japanese for reliability. In case you cannot read it says 

"If it ain't British it belongs on a bonfire."

After the conclusion of the rally hubby and I took another week and revisited the lower South Island.  The was our first trip over Wilmot Pass to Doubtless Sound. NZ really has many special places to visit and admire and retain for later Kiwis' to enjoy.

 And we took a leisurely trip on the old Earnslaw to see the refurbishment.

 Kayaking on the Wakatipu, we had a guide but he took the photo so out of shot. We had a 4 hour guided kayak trip which was perfect for my level of fitness and it was a still hot day.  We left early to make the most of the day and before it got too hot.

Riding the gondola to the top of Queenstown so we could take the zip line down. It is the worlds steepest tree to tree zip line and I was terrified but I had paid and I wasn't wasting my hard earned money. 

This was the easy part.

I often kept my eyes closed for most of the line. That moment you have to step of the platform hundreds of feet up a swaying tree   - ugggg.

http://www.ziptrek.com/queenstown-new-zealand/home

This was two weeks that ended too soon.

Ahh It Is June

June the month of falling leaves, autumnal colour at its best and the start of winter. The desire for puddings and casseroles but the earnest hope that they will not eventuate in added inches to the waistline. 

It is also the conclusion of the popular cooking shows - the best chef programmes are fine for the finale but painful for the endless elimination rounds, the belittling comments of pompous expert chefs drives me crazy. So many programmes come to a grinding end, some with relief and others with a strong desire for the next series. Give me Grand Designs any day of the week, Location, Location, Location and Relocation, Relocation hold my interest but shooting, fighting or fast cars bore me to death. Bit like the monotonous feature writing from local journalists and councillors on the projected amalgamation of councils. You can talk about it until you are blue in the face but most of us have detached ourselves from the argument. And then there is the amalgamation of the District Health Boards, what does that mean to joe blogs?  Probably less service, more travelling to the Hutt or Wellington, job losses again, lost expertise and another incentive to encourage our young families to see Australia as a nirvana for the disenfranchised.

Oh I sound like the cartoon!!   Sometimes you just need to let off steam.  Why can't life be simpler? Why; because where would the challenge be in that.

What have I enjoyed this week?  A long weekend with my gorgeous kids, well the daughter was a bit grumpy but that is life, she has a hectic demanding work life.  Lunch with old friends who had also flown into Auckland for the weekend, there are no friends like old friends, wine with another couple of old friends - love sharing wine with Sheryl and reminiscing about previous jobs and people but enjoying together the here and now. Laughing at where are our kids now and our aspirations for them and ourselves.  Only old friends know your history to really understand the irony of that. Not that I am being unappreciative of new friends as we all need friends and to be loved but it takes time to build those relationships.

Yep ain't that true.

Oh it is 8.30 and I plan to watch a love story chick flick  - 500 Days of Summer. If it turns out to be a dud I will resort reading in bed - Ellie Dean, Keep Smiling Through, another one of her war time stories of survival.       Ellie Dean - her novels