So here we are in Lake Wanaka all settled in our home away from home. Within a week were were both "lucky" enough to find jobs...Dom as a porter in a hotel and I as a barista in a 50's style diner coffee shop (with it's very own harley Davidson and juke box) so the money has begun to roll back our way. We've also found our own pad to live in but aren't moving in for another couple of weeks. It was hard to resist renting the place as everything, and i really mean everything (right down to a teaspoon and sandwich toaster) is already in the house so no need to scavage around the charity shops but just move straight in. It also has three bedrooms so if we fancy having a couple of flatmates to keep us company then that's a goer too. Oh and if anyone from back home wants a holiday come on over (no seriously come on over we'd love to have you.) Dom's job is easy(ish) but a bit boring as he's working on his own instead of in a team and i've learnt to make decent coffee (kiwis are very particular about their coffee) and can even do those little pictures on top of lattes. I've introduced the kiwis to squirty cream on their hot chocolates as apparently they don't really do this (WTF!). Each time I make a hot choc i challenge myself to get the cream towering higher than the one before but i really must stop this as it's getting ridiculous. It's only taken me a few shifts and a couple of funny looks from customers to get used to asking for dollars instead of pounds.

We're surrounded by a breathtaking lake (4th largest in NZ) and the mountain alpine backdrop of Mount Aspiring Park. If we'd been in Wanaka 2000 years ago we would have been greeted by masses of ice and huge glaciers which are responsible for the steep, craggy valleys that are here now. Apparently there is still a glacier in Mount Aspiring Park you can go visit. We managed to squeeze in a day of sunbathing by the side of the lake but now the weather is turning autumny and the mountain air crisp and fresh. The colours around us are just stunning. When driving to work on Sunday morning I couldn't help but notice the first coat of gleaming white snow on the mountain tops. Dom is getting particularly excited about spending the winter snowboarding but is still deliberating which mountain to buy a pass for...it's a hard life. Wanaka has lots of little coffee shops, restaurants, (overpriced) snowboarding shops and a supermarket (New World which is the kiwi equivilent of waitrose). The town is pretty quite at the min but will soon be primming with too-cool-for-school boarders waiting to strut their stuff on the slopes. Dom has joined the local footy team 'Wanaka FC' and played his first match on Saturday. He won man of the match, was made to chug pints of beer, came home drunk and kept me awake snooring dramatically in my earhole all night. Even the odd elbow in his side or kick in his shin didn't awake him from his drunken slumber but like a good girlfriend when I got up for a work a couple of hours later (6.30am) i was considerate and didn't bother him so needless to say he owes me. Big time!

We've managed to get hold of a couple of tickets to see the Flight of The Conchords tour of NZ..woohoo! This process involved Dom constantly refreshing the ticket website page in the minutes up until 12 when they went on sale and me doing laps around the dining room table chewing the sleeeve of my jumper in anticipation. We got tickets only five rows from the front. The gig is in Queenstown, Wanaka's big sister, just less than an hour from here.

We don't really have anything else exciting to report at the minute as we've just been doing the boring, but necessary, job hunt and work thing. We went for a hike the other day to get a great panoramic view over Wanaka and enjoyed a picnic when we reached the top (egg and bacon sarnies, homemade date slice and carrots...unfortunately no flask of tea). Dom has become pally with a guy at work who also doubles up as a pilot. He's offered to take us on a scenic flight over Milford Sound (think waterfalls, lush rain forests, seals, penguins and dolphins) for a fraction of the price tourists would pay so that's in the pipeline, as is a skydive. Anyway, must go as I can feel my big, juicy bag of Haribo summoning me (thanks Mum!)