The Schlegel's Visit

Gord and Susie Schlegel are from Grand Bend. I taught with Susie for all the years I was at Grand Bend School and her husband, Gord was the principal at the neighbouring school. They are both retired and on a vacation to New Zealand. I am so glad they are here, they are fun and they are so much like my Mom and Dad. Their personalities are very similar and it is the next best thing to having Sambo and Reena here with us. Susie taught Sammy when we was in Grade 1 and she is one of his favourite teachers. Both Abby and Sam has enjoyed having them here too. Mr. and Mrs. Schlegel are fierce Wii oponents!

Gord and Susie arrived in NZ and began their travels on the North Island. They called and left a message that they were in the South and would arrive at our home this past Friday. On Thursday afternoon they drove up and after a strange conversation they realized that they had been a day off as they were using a 2010 calendar! It worked out for us as they got to stay an extra day. So as we went to work and school Friday morning, Gord and Susie came along to see the kids' schools and they came to see Gore High with me. Then they spent their Friday exploring The Catlins. One of the reasons I love knowing the Schlegels is that they love life, everything they do they embrace and see the positive. They came home Friday evening having loved their day. The Catlins is one of our favourite places in NZ too.

Saturday we planned to do The Moonshine Festival and The Southern Shears. The kids went to a friend's house and Dan and I and the Schlegels went to the Moonshine Festival in the cold, drizzle of a day. We layered up and tried some moonshine, listened to fabulous bands, ate southern food. We enjoyed haggis, bubbles and squeak, wild boar wraps, lamb sweetbreads, pistachio cheesecake and southern ale. The weather put a bit of a damper on the day but we had fun anyway! (Does anyone know what sweetbreads are???)

Next we went to the Southern Shears and it was fascinating!!! The shearers were awesome! They sheared a ewe in less than a minute. We were so fortunate to be there as one of the competitions was special. Last year's champion of a certain grade was killed in a car accident and his family had made a special Maori Trophy. There were a bunch of Maori kids there, some of my students too...and they did a Haka for this year's winner. It was extremely emotional. I will try to video the students practicing the Haka at school. They do it on Wednesday and I always go and watch. It is beautiful. It moves me, I love watching it. Anyway, after the shearing we came home, warmed up with pizza and played Wii until the wee hours of the morning.

A weekend with Cathy & Jeff

We have had a fantastic weekend. On Friday night we welcomed my sister Cathy and her boyfriend Jeff. They arrived in New Zealand February 5th and are leaving on March 3rd. We were thrilled to have family with us for the weekend. After two very full-on weeks of holidaying, Cathy and Jeff were ready for a slightly slower pace. We willingly obliged. They didn't arrive until after ten on Friday night and before we knew it it was one in the morning. We were all looking forward to a nice sleepin on Saturday, but Doreen, my dear, sweet mother-in-law had other plans. She woke us with a phone call well before our waking hour. It was a good phone call though. Doreen and Sam are about to book their flights to visit in June. Samantha can't wait to see them!

After a lazy Saturday morning with a big breakfast of bacon, fruit-filled pancakes and eggs we loaded up and headed to Porpoise Bay. Porpoise Bay is our favourite spot in New Zealand. It is a great place to spend the day at the beach. The kids love playing in the waves on their boogie boards. Jeff and Cathy had a great time in the waves too. The dophins were out and swimming nearby but no one touched one. Afterwards we headed over to see if there were any penguins at Curio Bay and sure enough there were. We ended up having a very close encounter with one that was coming in from sea. Cathy loved it as you will see from the pictures. We finished the day with some fish and chips and seafood chowder at a roadside stand before heading for home.
Gore and Porpoise Bay

Penguins


Sunday started with church for some of us and then we planned to head to Dolamore Park in the Hokonui Hills for a hike and to look for a geo-cache. Samantha has been fighting a cold for the last week and didn't feel up to a hike so she stayed home and slept. It was a really nice afternoon for a hike and the kids were excited to search for a cache. The hike wasn't as leisurely as we had thought it might be, it was a very steady uphill climb and after we found the cache the kids, especially Abby, were ready to head back down to the car. But there was a sign that pointed us towards a lookout, only 15 minutes further up the trail, so off we went. The steady uphill climb became steeper and Abby just about didn't make it. With some encouragement, lots of tough love and several short rests, Abby managed to get to the lookout. She wasn't sure that the view was worth the effort but since the return trip was all downhill, her mood improved significantly. We returned home to find Samantha rested and feeling better, enjoyed a final dinner with our guests and then headed to the flying fox and the concrete slide here at camp for a little adventure to finish Jeff and Cathy's stay with us.
Hokonui Hike


We will be sad to see our guests leave in the morning. I think that Abby will be especially sad to see her Aunt Cathy leaving. Abby and her Aunt seem to share many similar characteristics. It has been interesting to watch them together this weekend. We are looking forward to more guests again next weekend. Susie and Gord Schlegel, former colleagues of Samantha's, are in Rotorua on the North Island right now and are planning to be here in Gore by Friday in time for the Hokonui Moonshine Festival. You will have to check back next week to hear all about that.

First week of school and Waitangi Weekend

We all made it through our first week back at school. Sam started at St. Peter's College in year 7. Abby is at Pukerau again in year 5. I am at Gore High teaching year 9 English and Forward Thinking and I am a Year 9 Dean. Sam has to wear a uniform at his school which he likes and he looks so smart. Abby is very happy to be in Mrs Watt's class again. The week went well. The kids started swimming lessons, Dano and Sam started guitar. This coming week Abby will start piano again as well as ballet.



Today the forecast called for 29 degree weather, hot gale winds....where better to be than the beach? So we called our friends, the Murrells and drove down to Porpoise Bay. Martin and I teach at the high school together. He and his family moved from England 6 months ago. Sarah, his wife and Tegan and Meri, his daughters are fun gals to hang with. Sam and Tegan go to school together and Meri and Abs get along beautifully. We met at the beach and it was incredibly windy...excellent for boogie boarding.



Saturday I was in a miserable place, homesick and ready to fly home! It has been over a year since I have seen my Mom and Dad, Holly, Gerred, Lillie, Hunter, Owen, Wyatt, Jane, Wayne, Lisa, Brian and Robyn, Sally...and so many more people. Luckily my sweet groom used his spidey senses and saw that I was in that place and encouraged phone calls and a nice long walk. I am glad to say that I am feeling better. I still really miss all those people, especially Mom and Dad, and I cannot wait for them to get here in June!



Until next time,
Samantha