Gondola ? Cable Car ?

When I think of a gondola I imagine a boat on a canal in Venice. Why then are the little bubble glass carriages that transport loads of tourists and locals up the sides of hills in Queenstown, Christchurch and Rotorua also called gondola ? Whatever the reason, they are a great way to get up and down a steep hill and to enjoy the scenery as you go and from the top.

We decided to go one frosty clear morning to see what it was all about. It was a beautiful day, with clear skies - but hazy, probably caused by the city slowly thawing from the hard frost earlier.

It's worth the trip if you are in Christchurch and have the time. A 20 minute wait for hot drinks at the cafe was a bit hard to swallow, but at least we were told when we ordered and weren't left wondering if they had forgotten our order.

Actually Freezing

The Camellias are all bursting into shades of pink and red in the garden and there is the promise of Spring in other plants too. Bulbs are peeking through the cold soil and some even flowering. The Magnolia and Rhododendron have buds waiting for just the right time to surprise us and the cherry trees have wee buds growing on their bare branches. But it is still REALLY cold. There have been bone chilling frosts and even some snow - though only a dusting which just looked like frost and was gone by mid morning.

Glad this was a Saturday and not a rubbish collection morning - touching that handle would not be a great start to anybody's day.

Heavy dew, clear nights, great sunsets

Winter is here, air temperatures have been very fridge like. But, there is still more sunshine than I am used to for winter; hardly any rain, and not much promise of snow. What is with  that ? Winter in South Island - I thought - would bring more of these things - not just way colder temperatures.

...and the months keep marching by, bringing decision time closer and closer.

Queens Birthday Roadie

A quick trip to the slightly warmer climes of Marlborough, ostensibly to look at houses and sections...but the scenery gets me every time. I love the drive up and down this coast.

Wish we had stopped to get a pic of the H-U-G-E elephant seal which has taken up residence on the side of State Highway 1 though. 

F-O-U-R metres long !! Amazing sight, just a bit hard to stop safely.

So Autumn didn't stick around much

WINTER IS HERE

Well it feels like it anyway. The last of the leaves are clinging to the branches, and the temperatures have dropped significantly. Getting out of bed in the mornings is getting harder.

There have been amazing sunrises and sunsets all over the country, frosty mornings, threats of snow, some glorious days and plenty of crisp clear nights. 

 sunrise 21 May

 clear nights

 bare trees, some already laden with the promise of spring

Camellias beginning to burst into flower to brighten the wintery days

and these I almost forgot I had planted !

Autumn is HERE

Well gee, its been ages since I was here.

Things have happened - like my laptop decided one night that it was not going to start, and that once restored/repaired it became evident the hard drive was heading closer and closer to the point of no return. So ! New laptop it had to be.

Its been a couple of weeks now and I have almost everything back up and running as it should. Still trying to work out how to get email messages out of old email programs which don't like outlook, and wont share.

I have a new role at work with a longer contract to add a bit of security to my life.

We went for a drive to Hanmer Springs one afternoon and will have to go back and spend more time there and do more than just buy fudge and have coffee. 

The weather has turned !! We went on a roadie at ANZAC weekend and found a-m-a-z-i-n-g autumn splendour on the Lewis Pass, and in Tasman and Marlborough.

The feijoa trees are growing fruit like there is no tomorrow. There has been baking; upside down feijoa cake, feijoa muffins, pancakes. There are figs too but we have no ladder and the birds have been feasting instead of us.

Autumn is in our garden too - its getting hard to keep up with the leaves.

And its been Mothers' Day - and I was spoilt; smellies, a book, a necklace handmade in our favourite part of England, and yummy dinner.

What will the next few weeks bring ? Stay tuned.