Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Just hanging out by the beach, Christmas Day afternoon 2011

Happy Christmas from New Zealand!  It's been a bit of contrast with Christmas Day last year...

Busy busy busy

Where to start, where to start?  Sorry folks, aware we've been lax in posting the updates recently.  We were out and about showing the sights to Dave's Mum and hadn't had time to post on one adventure before moving on to the next.  So, we left you in Taupo.

View from the deck

Our next jaunt was closer to home, when we headed over to Waiheke Island for a few days.

Mum arrives and we do Taupo

Taupo lakeside panorama

So Mum arrived just over a week ago and says the flight 'wasn't too bad', make of that what you will.  I was working the first weekend after she arrived (world cup final weekend - very quiet, there wasn't a Kiwi in the country who was going to miss that match by getting admitted to hospital!), so she, Hannah and the kids chilled out and pottered around our local beaches.  This weekend just gone I was speaking at a conference at Lake Taupo...

Pottering round Piha

We're getting a bit behind with our blogging here, but at the beginning of September we went to Piha for the day.

Q: What is wrong with this jar of Marmite?

A: It is EMPTY.

And at the third stroke the time in Auckland will be...

Just a reminder that it's now officially summer in New Zealand - that is, the clocks have gone forward for summertime, so we are now 12 hours ahead of GMT.  Bear that in mind if you're planning on catching us via Skype (and please do - we'd love to hear from you!)

Photos of Tilly's birthday

Only a month after the event....  Here are some photos of Tilly's party and of present opening on her actual birthday.