May 2020 Part 2

 Early February, after much angst about whether to fly to New Zealand or be forced to stay home due to drought or other medical reasons, we actually boarded the flight and arrived in Queenstown NZ . The weather was rainy leaving Brisbane.

 Flying into Queenstown we were pleased to see ice on the mountain tops and no rain.

 One of the lakes around Queenstown.

 The Alps as we sped around the South Island in our tiny hire car.

 This was the best steak place we could find in Queenstown. They recycle bicycles over there.

 Lake TeAnu is on the way to Milford Sound. We had not planned on visiting Milford Sound , just as well , as some days before we went, a bridge was washed away in torrential rain.

 This is the southern shore of the South Island, a bit windswept.

 I just loved these trees. They are permanently twisted and bent from the gales.

 Bluff is the town at the southern most tip of the South Island. There is a small 3rd Island off the coast which is quite popular with hikers.

 From the southern edge we drove up to Dunedin and up to the Albatross centre in the Otago area. We were lucky to see the changeover between Mum and Dad, sitting with their chick. A fascinating journey to learn about them.

 In Dunedin, we wandered through the Botanic Gardens, the trees seemed to grow better over there. This is an old Bunya Pine, of cultural significance to us as we had some growing at our previous farm.

 Further up the East Coast we found these boulders at Moeraki.

 Then we changed direction and headed west to Wanaka across the centre of the Island.This was a hydro electricity dam .

 We spent a night at Wanaka before driving up to Franz Josef Glacier. We went for a valley hike and also managed a flight up to land on the glacier, before the weather closed in and all flights were stopped.

 An action shot of crossing the freezing water, even though the air temperature was warm. The colour of the valley was grey but in a good way.

 The tourist strip of Franz Josef.

 From there we went to the beach on the West Coast.

 Back into Franz Josef for our afternoon flight in the helicopter to the glacier. This is down on the town landing area. A stroll from the tourist strip.

 From there we drove up to Greymouth for the night, and visited Shantytown, an old historical mining village display. They had a very good rocks and minerals collection in amongst their buildings. The place  was starting to feel the effects of the coronavirus on tourism as they usually have busloads of Chinese tourists and we were welcomed with the words " we HAVE some customers this Sunday morning " indicating they were struggling then. I would hate to see how they are surviving now as it is mostly run by volunteers I think.

 From there we headed into Christchurch, and detoured into Hanmer Springs. We drove over this old wooden/metal bridge. Jet boats operate in the river below. We had seen  the famous Shotover one near Queenstown on our first day in NZ too. We both decided if we get a chance to go back, we would spend more time at Hanmer Springs.

 Along the road to Christchurch we drove past these rocks, I think they are limestone but could be wrong.

 Christchurch is still rebuilding after the earthquake some years back now. I doubt if all of the buildings will be retained. There are plenty of car parking areas where buildings have been demolished and decisions no doubt to be made as to what is built there next.

 This was the peaceful scene in the Botanic Gardens in Christchurch.

 This was the view as we prepared to take off on the homeward bound flight. The only rain we saw the entire trip was overnight at Greymouth after our helicopter flight. We would like to visit again, we were hoping to hop across for a weekend in mid winter to Queenstown just so we could experience the cold. Now because of the current virus restrictions it may never happen. It might also then be too costly. I think some of us will be doing more lengthy and detailed cost/benefits analysis in future about spending.

Back home, we settled in to find we had more good rain while we were away to ease the drought pressures.. My father in law was moved into nursing care while we were away, so changes happened there too.  Our furry grand dog moved in for a planned 4 week stay while his Mum took off in early March for a trip to Sri Lanka and India. Then the coronavirus pandemic hit us. I might continue with that story into Part 3. Till then, take care.

May 2020 Part 1

 It has been awhile since I decided to do battle with technology and download photos from iPad to Laptop to visit blogger again. I will start with October 2019. This lovely granddaughter arrived right on schedule and has been a delight for us all. She is now nearly 7 months old, and  in these coronovirus times we have not seen much of her lately to see her and the other grandchildren growing.

 At the same time as we were welcoming her to the family, I had some massive work changes happening. We had been promised by the Qld Govt for a new laboratory after the dental clinic moved off campus in 2015, well it became a reality in 2019. The above photo is part of the new area before more equipment moved in.

 This was the view back into the existing section which was then remodelled to become more of our new space. We had to endure 3 months of walking between the 2 ends of the building, which was sometimes inconvenient at 3 o'clock in the morning as the first floor corridor was blocked off. It kept us fit I suppose. We finally moved us all back together in January 2020. A few problems since, eg.  a deluge from the ceiling in a heavy downpour was when we discovered a few issues with the roof. It certainly has made social distancing at work much easier as we are not as cramped as we were.

 I still have been doing some sewing, I was supposed to be working on artwork for 3 exhibitions this year. One has been postponed already, not sure about the other 2, wait and see I suppose.

 In November, I was lucky to spend a weekend on Hamilton Island with my youngest daughter who attended a wedding there. I went off on a tour to Whitehaven while she attended the wedding.

 We stayed in one of those tall buildings, I think it was the 2nd from the left. My bridesmaid from 35 years ago, a dear Uni friend jetted down from the North to catch up with us.  It was so good to see her as a road trip takes a few days.

Little missy was about 7 weeks old when this was taken.

 All has not been doom and gloom though, I have been slowly persisting with the doors. This was the start on number 9 out of 10. I have since puttied in the missing window pane, the door has been stained, and just needing more coats of varnish after the putty hardens a bit more.

 The drought in November/December and January hit us a bit. I discovered that wallabies do not like eating lime trees. Most other citrus had their leaves eaten. You can see in the background how bare the earth got.

 This is the view of home from the front gate. Even the weaners we had around the house were depressed. They just seem to mope around, finding bits to eat. Lucky we had enough water though we were digging in the sand in one paddock. We ended up sacrificing some though as we managed to get the spring fed dam desilted about a week before some lovely rain started.

 This was the piece I started working on in a previous photo. I am glad to say it is now finished except for a hanging sleeve. I wanted to make it for the November exhibition so no rush as they say. I ended up changing a fabric out of this test arrangement.

 I used some offcuts from the previous quilt and made an overlay out of this piece. I hope to get a move on and take some photos of the finished pieces soon and hopefully can upload some of them.

 Back to the work renovations. In January we move Microbiology into its new home. I spent 2 extra days at work helping them shift. I managed a photo of the old after all of the incubators ( 6 of them) and various other bulky items were gone. Over the last 34 years I have spent a considerable amount of time in that corner, it was a bit sad to say goodbye but it is progress as they say.

Back to the house renovations, this is one of my finished doors. I think this is number 6. So hopefully soon I will have 10 of these done.
 February saw us, trying to decide whether we should fly off to New Zealand as planned for 9 days. The drought, the  developing coronavirus situation and the health of a parent were considerable angst for us. We decided to go, and we got safely home again, mid February. I will continue with Part 2 as soon as possible. Till then, take care in this Covid-19 world.