Well, here we go with another month passed since my last ramblings. And I must admit, what a month it has been. We have had skiing, beer festival, sick children and more fishing (or casting as it is now known).
And in all these events, there has ben much hilarity (maybe with the exception of a sick child). Firstly I would like to share with you a picture that proves that not only is Jesus alive, but that he likes beer. So forget those sightings of Brad Pitt in Wellington; I have gone one better and saw his Ultimate Holiness.
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| No gnatty tricks such as turning water into ale were preformed. |
This snap was taken at the awesome event, Beervana, in Wellington. A load of boutique brewers get together and offer their wares. The unfortunate point is that thy issue you with a small glass to do the tasting with, and as we all know you seem to drink more when you have a small glass....that is my excuse, and I am sticking with it. As you no doubt know from my previous ramblings, I am not a huge fan of the Kiwi beers. There were some however that certainly were very good indeed, especially the Number 3 IPA from
Townshend Brewers. And then at the other end of the scale you had
Mike's Organic brewery and
Gisborne Gold; their offering tasted like burnt crap. There was even an importer of some of the German pilsners, but unfortunately some of the taste had been lost in the 10,000 miles of transportation.
It was an epic night, and one that I shall remember for a long while; and not just for the candle-lit dinner for two in a chinese restaurant.
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| Surf casting at Tangimoana |
As I said earlier, there have been some more fishing adventures, or more appropriately, casting adventures. So named for the complete and utter lack of catching. I have been giving surf casting a go; mainly because I do not own a boat, and also for the impending trip over summer there will be some awesome places to go. I am the proud owner of a 12' rod, and much fine, fine tackle....the only drama, is that I have not a clue what to do with it. I guess that it just gets flung into the ocean and hope for the best; these damn fish just don't seem to have the courtesy of impaling themselves on my hooks. Still, we shall see what the future holds. Rumour has it that as the weather improves so will my luck; I am not so sure. There are some more trips planned for the not so distant future, and with a bit of luck we'll manage to get out onto a boat. The family is going a bit hungry at the moment without me providing food for the table. I am possibly coming around to the thought that it might be easier just to go to the fishmongers....?
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| A day on the board |
Next on the agenda has been the skiing/snowboarding up at Turoa. There have been some great days up there, and I am now in credit on the season pass, which is always good! Liz got her skis for her 30th, and not be feel left out, I bought a pair as well. This is where I have to admit that there is something, aside from ironing, that my wife is better than me at. Not for long though. Jocelyn has much fun in the daycare centre at the top of the mountain, where she gets to wear her 'ski-gumboots' and mum & dad do their thing; it is great! So weather permitting, we will be up there next weekend.
We need to make the most of it as I am due off to Australia at the end of September for a month. Then not long till the epic tour of New Zealand begins, again!
