With only a few days till Christmas I thought it a good time to detail some of our activities and report on where other Overlanders that we have been following, are in the world and what is keeping us active.
Overlanders.
Sarah, Tim, Charley and Jaxon have headed west out of Brazil, down through Bolivia and are now making their way down the coast of Chile.
Friends and fellow Defender drivers, Kezia and Troy are not having a great time with their beloved Defender “Daffy”. A bolt sheared in the rear diff and it has created some consternation and delays. They are currently working their way down the east coast of Argentina, hoping to be in Urshia, as are Sarah and Tim, before winter snow and ice set in.
We have a visitor from the UK.
One of Jen’s sisters, Caroline has joined us. Flying in from the UK with a friend, we picked her up in Wellington where we stayed with Noel and Dee for two nights and did some sightseeing with them. An enjoyable walk around Wilton Reserve amongst the gorgeous trees, birds and vegetation
A Kereru, or Wood Pigeon, that alighted above us.
The girls settled into a static display, an old Cable car complete with “safety” straps, to reduce the chance of passengers falling many meters to their death. New Swiss built cable cars with only internal seating are now operating.
Ai tells of a number of such accidents with the depicted cars :-
Multiple Deaths (1909, 1918, 1931, 1932): Deaths occurred in these years, linked to the dangerous operating conditions and faulty brakes of the early cable cars, leading to serious injuries and fatalities for passengers and bystanders
Wellington is a beautiful city on one of it’s rare calm, sunny, summer days. There are two cruise ships in port and we chat with a number of visitors from distant parts of the world, also taking in the elevated sights.
Palmerston North.
On our way back to Rotorua we joined Bob for lunch at our favorite Chinese restaurant in Palmerston North. It was great to catch up with Bob again and to see that he’s in both good health and spirits. While in Palmerston I managed to run an orange light and have a police car with wailing siren and flashing lights attempt to force me to stop. Instead, acknowledging him, I chose to find a safe place to pull over and read him the riot act for his boorish behavior. Needless to say it didn’t endear me to him and he wrote me a $150 letter for my troubles…:)
Our garden is starting to produce with lettuce, beans, lemons and strawberries. Soon with apples, tomatoes, feijoas, nectarines, plums, oranges, blueberries, olives and grapes. I’m the watering boy…:)
Car club Christmas Picnic.
This year our Christmas picnic was held on club member Mario’s farm about 10k south west of Rotorua.
Santa made an appearance for the children and members were given a ride in Mario’s Model A Tourer.
Cheers Roger..:)
Members Doug and Doreen’s beautifully presented 1929 Graham Page.
Other activities.
We are spoiled for choice in Rotorua, for places to take Caroline to see. A couple of days ago we drove down to visit the geothermal site of Orakei Korako. A site I had never been to before.
An earlier visit to Okere Falls to watch rafting groups deal with the sudden descent!
A Very Merry Christmas
To all our family, friends and acquaintances wherever you may be in the world, may your celebrations be merry and the year ahead productive..
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