Hi there, Yes, I'm still here and very much alive! (thanks for your note Roger). My 'good life' is going well and the sun has been shining on a regular basis too. I've heard alot about your weather in the UK and about the looting of the containers on the south west. We have even had press reports about Big Brother!!! (Sad but true). The weather patterns in New Zealand are not behaving as they normally do. The summer is very intermitant. I don...

Hi there,Hope you are keeping well. The picture is of boots the dog. He spends most of his days on the arm chair. He is remarkably cute and behaves like a gentle giant.Not much has been happening here, the hostel is still busy and we are full almost every night. My routine involves getting up at 8-9am to start work at 10am, when all the guests check out. I usually finish at 11.30am and then we all have coffee from the cafe accross the road. Mocha is still my favo...

Hi there,Happy New Year to you all. I have loads of pictures but I'm struggling to up-load them. Technology in Akaroa is a bit limited. New Year's was a quiet affair but very funny. We only had two guests in the hostel. The two were oringinally from England, very odd and had a great dry, british humour. We all got drunk and laughed alot. Kath the owner, usually closes the hostel to save it from being trashed from revellers, as it has done in previous...

Hi there, Christmas in Akaroa was great fun. We had a bar-b-que at the hostel on Christmas Eve. We sipped champagne and prepared all the food while Nick and Bob were cooking the meat. It was warm evening because the sun had been shining all day. Everyone, (all 18 guests and 5 staff) ate and drunk like kings and queens. Christmas day was even better, it was yet another hot day, I even wore a dress! Nick, myself, Bob and Kath were invited for a champange breakfa...

Happy Christmas to you all! Its been two weeks since I started my job in Akaroa. My hostel is very nice and has a friendly, homely atmosphere. The Bon Accord hostel is owned by a woman called Kathy who moved over to New Zealand from the UK 6 years ago. She is a very active person who has 3 horses, a dog called Boots and a cat called Tiger. There is also a couple from Austrialia who manages the hostel called Bob and Cath. We all help run the hostel. The hostel ...