Kiwi as, is how to describe The campsite at Twizel. I had my 45th birthday up there in the Kiwi late autumn. We constructed the tent and lined our picnic seats in a row (the family) and sat watching the stars all night. You feel pretty close to them up there which is presumably why they have an Observatory. So I wanted to spend our first night there. The van limped into the site with one windscreen wiper hanging off. It’s summer. We won’t need it.

It wasn’t long before Spook had gone native.

The distances may be big, but they are not boring.

We came to the village of Tarras quicker than I’d expected - you take a right turn here and the views are all about beautiful Wanaka. It’s a few kilometres to go but it unfolds before you. So I started crying again. I wasn’t sure why but it was heartfelt.
We had time to look around the town before our Meg finished work so we booked into a campsite and went to Wastebusters to buy more cutlery and a tool for the wiper. The only appropriate tool had been artfully fashioned into a sculpture!

We bought our cutlery from Megs friend from Fort William - Rachael. I’d last seen her at the 3 Wise Monkeys climbing wall in The Fort. I was telling her how emotional it was to be back in Wanaka and burst into tears again.
when we eventually met up with our beautiful daughter I’d got over my tears which did not impress her at all.

She got over it quite quickly though.
It was amazing to be back in Wanaka with her and to see her so happy, as if she’d never left.
I had, however, forgotten how exhausting it is trying to keep up with her. As soon as she had a day off, it was biking up the mountain at Cardrona. All uplifts and a very solid Enduro bike, and no amount of excuses was getting me out of it.

This was not part of my plan - I don’t do scary downhilly stuff. A nice flat canal is more my kind of thing. And I really don’t need this helmet squooshing my cheeks and mouth together.