I had a relaxing last few days in Nelson just cycling and walking and eating cake!! Unusually, when the plane took off we went the 'opposite' way to the norm which gave me one last chance to look over Rabbit Island, the Crab and the Richmond Ranges. It felt sad to leave but not like last year and I know it will always be there for us to revisit for visitors we are at the end of the day.

It was a beautiful, calm day and the flight into Wellington was great as was the flight back out an hour later as I headed to New Plymouth on the north island. However, the landing at NP had the burly guy sitting next to me practically holding my hand! My friend, Jill, was there to meet me and we set off on our girly few days. We had such fun with lots of walking by wild seas in clear sunshine. NP is a surfing mecca and so it's buzzy. We went to a couple of live music evenings in the local park which gave us some of the best and worst performances imaginable! Still, sitting out on balmy evenings looking up at the stars seemed a good way to spend January! Photos to follow. I was sorry to leave.

Flew from there, through Wellington, back to Sydney and on the Tasman crossing they had to suspend service three times because of the turbulance....I thnk they see me coming. Ailsa picked me up from the airport and we headed back to the hills. Yesterday we drove down to the beach about 100km south of Sydney. The weather in NSW has made the news around the world and so we counted ourselves lucky that it stayed mostly dry for us to walk along the beach with massive rollers crashing in. Ailsa rolled down a sand dune (welll, quite a small 'dune') and in capturing the event on camera I dropped it in the sand with the lense open...EEK! It's not happy now but I plan to sort it in Tasmania on Friday and then I'll put some photos up. As I write this Debbie is sitting here playing and singing 'Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard' (Paul Simon) on her 12 string which is very enjoyable. Music seems to run through the family :)

So, flying to Hobart tomorrow afternoon for more fun and adventures. Honestly?? A tiny bit homesick...but don't tell Paul :)