This weekend I didn't go on a trip, because of little Ellie's third birthday. For it, Denise's mom, her two sisters, and two of her brothers came up from Wellington, and there was a big jungle-themed party on Saturday morning.
The afternoon was spent lazing about in the lovely sunshine, as the morning's acitivities had tired everyone out, but in the evening we went for a drive up Mount Taranaki, which was very beautiful.
On Sunday Denise's family left at noon, and Denise, Ellie, and I drove to the historic site of Koru Pa (where an old Maori village used to be), enjoying the gorgeous weather. On our way back we stopped off at one of the beaches. The black vulcanic sand glittered in the sun, people were bracing the cold water or sunbathing, and Ellie ran around barefoot – it almost felt like summer…
Denise and Ellie had to go to another birthday party, so I drove to the Paratutu (a steep mountain peak right at the sea) on my own. I climbed it, feeling more like a goat than anything else, and spent some time sitting at the top, reading and enjoying the view. When it became dusk, I climbed down and drove a bit further along the coast to find a good spot to watch the sunset (I was not climbing down that mountain in the dark!). Unfortunately, clouds came over from Mt. Taranaki and covered the sun, but it had been a very good day anyway… To top it off, Sibylle called me and we had a nice chat catching up with each other.
This morning I've been organizing the rest of my stay here in New Zealand – I've changed my flight to Sydney to September 22 (shortening my time in Australia to two weeks – barely more than a short vacation), giving me time for my trip to the South Island (Thursday to Tuesday) and for some more research. Let's hope that this is definite!
Hope you all had a good weekend! Miss all of you – I know I've been bad with email, and I apologize… *hugs*