tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75596546373131126152024-03-05T11:30:36.166-08:00Katie and John's AdventuresKatie DeRochehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003624456162515224noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7559654637313112615.post-71542075966250825602012-02-15T19:49:00.000-08:002012-02-15T20:34:21.823-08:00<span style="font-weight:bold;">Jan 5th - The Poop Incident</span><br /><br />The next morning I made a quick run to the bathroom before getting in the van and driving it out of the campsite. We wanted to get out of there before we had to deal with anymore bugs. John then came upfront and got in the drivers seat and asked me to pass him his flipflops which were down by my feet. So I picked one up, felt something slimy! and threw it back down on the floor. It turns out that I had stepped in poop during my trip to the bathroom and had tracked it into the van and onto Johns flip flops and now had gotten on my hands. Disgusting. John instantly gave up on his sandals while I scrubbed mine off at the nearest petrol station. Yuck.<br /><br />We drove the winding road through the forrest to the Motueka and stayed there for the night.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jan 4th - Fox Glacier</span><br /><br />After breakfast we headed out for our guided tour of Fox Glacier. They supplied us with hiking boots and crampons and drove us to the base of the glacier. It took us about an hour to get to the actual glacier when we put on our crampons and spent about an hour on the ice before heading back down. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCphbNH8GdD62HAZ7aYz3U7jz2Nq2ooX5RnV6Mkrp40Wtf5CJyF-VAKFooLUN_jQ7U5beRGPeEleGlxuVTymn_xf7w2bziQoTKsLZwbIDYNQARrBL9Dajru6-XKo22PxZm4sB07V0UBeJd/s1600/IMG_3024.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCphbNH8GdD62HAZ7aYz3U7jz2Nq2ooX5RnV6Mkrp40Wtf5CJyF-VAKFooLUN_jQ7U5beRGPeEleGlxuVTymn_xf7w2bziQoTKsLZwbIDYNQARrBL9Dajru6-XKo22PxZm4sB07V0UBeJd/s400/IMG_3024.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709581586204380402" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBzKfEIc2EKDkt1kPVLzjcDwwiIhNuLkVUz29IlkmCjgVXoTcT_m4ad6ky3HSA1Vtrr4N4TFqsSKgf03rRRuje_z0p_-6j8gnanOtnEDcbHCu2JSMOzxFkj6NN5X9PHF4SR2auG2peH9CV/s1600/IMG_3033.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 224px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBzKfEIc2EKDkt1kPVLzjcDwwiIhNuLkVUz29IlkmCjgVXoTcT_m4ad6ky3HSA1Vtrr4N4TFqsSKgf03rRRuje_z0p_-6j8gnanOtnEDcbHCu2JSMOzxFkj6NN5X9PHF4SR2auG2peH9CV/s400/IMG_3033.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709580352846793250" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbNsqnG3ipiQV4qOwj_YXY2ilAsNfYqHstwxSi-tnLBYlvWIeTBOvnsrmWK-Ocl0KnAjNn-ueKIqUW7FWZbA96X_u48AMNReNzTTd_VrjjBHZ02TUn1s8zGlBunrs-UUzxouVPHc4BXI0/s1600/IMG_3027.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 224px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbNsqnG3ipiQV4qOwj_YXY2ilAsNfYqHstwxSi-tnLBYlvWIeTBOvnsrmWK-Ocl0KnAjNn-ueKIqUW7FWZbA96X_u48AMNReNzTTd_VrjjBHZ02TUn1s8zGlBunrs-UUzxouVPHc4BXI0/s400/IMG_3027.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709580347796794178" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDoMkzaRUVrpXaNBFkANsfS_Kq83cpi1V7178yGoi-siCtm5muDxJ_2YdFwK2Z5hsashNemtcv6VsTj6Hx2lJKvJM01LSUBr6IEzqXO9TRncXFzg-fyFptlj9Jho0hjNxgUvlFmyaLkgDc/s1600/IMG_3020.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 224px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDoMkzaRUVrpXaNBFkANsfS_Kq83cpi1V7178yGoi-siCtm5muDxJ_2YdFwK2Z5hsashNemtcv6VsTj6Hx2lJKvJM01LSUBr6IEzqXO9TRncXFzg-fyFptlj9Jho0hjNxgUvlFmyaLkgDc/s400/IMG_3020.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709580339457071186" /></a><br /><br />Apparently NZ has some of the only glaciers that are so easily reached that you can drive right up to them. Our guide told us that mostly you have to travel for days off road or fly in to get to a glacier. So we were very happy to have taken the tour.<br /><br />Afterwards we drove to Franz Josef glacier which was in the next town. We checked out the glacier and then went to the Glacier Hot Pools to soak which was the perfect thing to do after walking on a giant block of ice. <br /><br />We drove to Hokitika feeling rejuvenated and relaxed and ate lunch on the beach where we first saw black sand. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCnfwURir2SKOvmgfFB6X6Xh9qRvoUqXLGWbSCRkNJCi81I-t6LXBcbI_8fl0NrZbs9m9Oio6NocijSQYUkSYRr_9Bu7QLtXwOAOcepOnkGtJS0yAVdRVJW38YRwuOiiumtK96_YFDOaq8/s1600/IMG_3360.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCnfwURir2SKOvmgfFB6X6Xh9qRvoUqXLGWbSCRkNJCi81I-t6LXBcbI_8fl0NrZbs9m9Oio6NocijSQYUkSYRr_9Bu7QLtXwOAOcepOnkGtJS0yAVdRVJW38YRwuOiiumtK96_YFDOaq8/s400/IMG_3360.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709585936675533106" /></a><br /><br />We then heading to a campsite we found in our camping guide which was a little off the main road. We immediately knew that it was an insect infested area so we stayed in the van and barely opened the doors to go to the bathroom. But unfortunately we had left a back window open and the van was soon full of mosquitos. We stayed up late in the night doused in insect repellent listening to the hum of the mosquitos and waiting for them to show themselves. We probably killed around 20 of them before hiding under the covers in the hot van for the rest of the night. <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jan 3rd - Day of Rest</span><br /><br />We had arrived in the area a day early so we spent the day doing laundry, emptying the van to rid it of any stray black flies and repacking it, using the internet and watching movies in the holiday park lounge. <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jan 2nd - The West Coast</span><br /><br />We drove back to Wanaka the next day and on the way we stopped at a shooting range called “Have a Shot” where I shot a 22 cal and John shot some clay pigeons with a shotgun. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirnKMbZdUPIuCoWUwHCJGVYldWemvNu9qqxNkpbWhT6LOhFsxZwlfKAJOvzBEQwmy2OlkHV-tE8JCdgVHlwQ7tyeUYnfnOK6thDKxQgNxaYl8SqEuNJ21FDU_F8n9tb-RKlD5RhKHi6bmA/s1600/IMG_2999.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirnKMbZdUPIuCoWUwHCJGVYldWemvNu9qqxNkpbWhT6LOhFsxZwlfKAJOvzBEQwmy2OlkHV-tE8JCdgVHlwQ7tyeUYnfnOK6thDKxQgNxaYl8SqEuNJ21FDU_F8n9tb-RKlD5RhKHi6bmA/s400/IMG_2999.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709580330497913778" /></a><br /><br />We ate at Amigos in Wanaka, one of the only Mexican restaurants we’ve seen in NZ, and continued to drive West through the ever winding Haast Pass. Finally we decided to set up camp at Lake Hawea where we paid the registration fee found a spot by the water and got ready to make dinner. Very soon we noticed a hoard of black flies swarm into the back of the van and we couldn’t get them to go away. We tried to reposition the van so he wind could help, we tried lighting our citronella candles, but when the flies started biting us and getting in our food so we decided to bail. We were squishing every fly in sight and driving with the doors open and by the time we got to Fox Glacier we could sleep in peace. <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jan 1st - New Years</span><br /><br />In the morning we went for a quick dip in the lake to wash up then headed towards Wanaka. We didn’t like how busy Wanaka was when we got there so we got some groceries and continued towards Mount Cook. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg5U5DgGk-m7r9bzeJejXzs_uuDfxI-0uWZYk1J6ExUW6wpDl2FrYJaEET5kFPcpUGR9Sk618zGkYfSzk17BfO7o915hXfDgpED6F0rTuELmsWvg8rq01s9PZAnmnAuQWjD37wjoZhLTAN/s1600/IMG_2949.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg5U5DgGk-m7r9bzeJejXzs_uuDfxI-0uWZYk1J6ExUW6wpDl2FrYJaEET5kFPcpUGR9Sk618zGkYfSzk17BfO7o915hXfDgpED6F0rTuELmsWvg8rq01s9PZAnmnAuQWjD37wjoZhLTAN/s400/IMG_2949.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709577420400672642" /></a><br /><br />On the way we stopped at Lake Ohau and decided to stay there for the night. Right by a beautiful lake with white capped mountains in the distance and bathrooms nearby. Score! But unfortunately we soon found out that the bathrooms were disgusting and the mens room was full of giant flies.<br /><br /><br />After breakfast we drove the rest of the way to Mount Cook and on the way we came to a body of water that was a beautiful blue color running off the mountain.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwNXfF6Om5Y3lfSyulNoa-ZKKGsnTnj1TYoAbTMp1XC9OHg6YA6CFXRGhJXUUZbm0O4LYyIt4w6Y4ZElqp-mjEjkLY5fzHqrNPchP0oxF8aW32h1Ib8fk6oITmgxxb7_udolsruRsVhI3g/s1600/IMG_2953.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 96px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwNXfF6Om5Y3lfSyulNoa-ZKKGsnTnj1TYoAbTMp1XC9OHg6YA6CFXRGhJXUUZbm0O4LYyIt4w6Y4ZElqp-mjEjkLY5fzHqrNPchP0oxF8aW32h1Ib8fk6oITmgxxb7_udolsruRsVhI3g/s400/IMG_2953.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709577424540615618" /></a><br /><br />We were worried that it was too cloudy and we wouldn’t be able to see the mountains but as we drove closer the sky was clearing and by the time we had gotten to the end of our three hour tramp we could see everything. What a beautiful walk that was, with a view of a glacier in the distance at the base of the mountain. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2m4MKdFyJYe-JpvxKnuqUbCdK-Op61JNVq2kjAEQFUAWM3zY3eNLs_trWIDSRmKP466YpJJk5YSfKHERQq8W2WxoFWofYfhWqu0A3F3ATJwdm3a1u39pt7XYSpfx_bavTYqqC9jiKVtoc/s1600/IMG_2970.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 208px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2m4MKdFyJYe-JpvxKnuqUbCdK-Op61JNVq2kjAEQFUAWM3zY3eNLs_trWIDSRmKP466YpJJk5YSfKHERQq8W2WxoFWofYfhWqu0A3F3ATJwdm3a1u39pt7XYSpfx_bavTYqqC9jiKVtoc/s400/IMG_2970.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709580326538498226" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9iYltjGQv2JXOJYlGZLKuD83X8Mbnfa4Nqr5y_ITIzj000yL5at4wL9j6yBqUD2YRh5tJGtLP2utl7jewYw_ANKGDxbj5eYpWy19k5RCMyLQn5lt9aKb1WQGNlw6c2DjdYLKCvfXvBQMz/s1600/IMG_2990.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 177px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9iYltjGQv2JXOJYlGZLKuD83X8Mbnfa4Nqr5y_ITIzj000yL5at4wL9j6yBqUD2YRh5tJGtLP2utl7jewYw_ANKGDxbj5eYpWy19k5RCMyLQn5lt9aKb1WQGNlw6c2DjdYLKCvfXvBQMz/s400/IMG_2990.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709577444299649826" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRX-cA8Y3jc9Nddjmebc5I41O9xq0cYJJu3C4bWO0aywNSlbeStbGJjRf3bnHDHV8yAzFB-7c6nLJihAZibU7_-QNe76VAAx63VA73O1Yj0ZKow7tynf3rA8y8GSdwv-vZjznNgwhXy38S/s1600/IMG_2971.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRX-cA8Y3jc9Nddjmebc5I41O9xq0cYJJu3C4bWO0aywNSlbeStbGJjRf3bnHDHV8yAzFB-7c6nLJihAZibU7_-QNe76VAAx63VA73O1Yj0ZKow7tynf3rA8y8GSdwv-vZjznNgwhXy38S/s400/IMG_2971.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709577442310844914" /></a><br /><br /><br />Stayed in Twizle for the night. <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Dec 31st - New Years Eve</span><br /><br />We drove into Queenstown early to get a parking spot since we knew it was going to get really busy. We found a spot along the lake and walked into town to join the chaos. We didn’t stay too long since it was so busy and everything was extremely expensive so we spent most of the day by the van and on the beach. <br /><br />We didn’t realize how lucky we were until we met some guys in another camper van who had driven down from Nelson because there was rain forecasted for basically everywhere in NZ north of Queenstown. <br /><br />Throughout the day we went back into town, went to a few different pubs, met a couple of young drunk guys from Oamaru who asked us for a piece of our pizza (which we had gotten for free so we gave it to them) and sat in a park watching a little kid do round offs.<br /><br />John and I both agreed that even if Christmas in the summer was strange New Years in the summer was kind of great.<br /><br />We watched to fireworks which were good but short from the center of Queenstown madness where we saw girls dressed in barely any clothes, a fight broke out right next to us and there was barely enough room to stand. It took us almost 2 hours to get back to Moke Lack and were so happy when we could finally close our eyes.Katie DeRochehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003624456162515224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7559654637313112615.post-70717808651671966532012-02-14T21:04:00.000-08:002012-02-14T22:27:28.557-08:00New Zealand Road TripAs you may know John and I left Dunedin on the 27th of December to travel New Zealand in our camper van until our outgoing flights from Auckland on the 7th of February. During this time I (Katie) kept a journal, mostly just to remember exactly where we were and when and also our thoughts of some of our experiences.<br /><br />Here is a revised version of my entries...<span style="font-weight:bold;">Read from the bottom entry up </span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Dec 29th - Moke Lake</span><br /><br />We spent the morning in Te Anau in the park by the lake tossing the nerf ball around before packing up the van and leaving for Kingston. We ate lunch there by a lake, there wasn't much else to see so we drove the rest of the way to Queenstown where we had planned to be for New Years. On the way we passed a couple traveling NZ on a tandem bicycle! So awesome. <br /><br />Once in Queenstown we took the gondola up to the luge. We waited 40 minutes in line since we had paid for the luge already. But it turned out to be worth the wait and did it again. (shorter wait the second time around) <br /><br />We had supper at a spot called Searle Lane & Social and it was SO GOOD. We recommend the ribeye steak and mashed potatoes if you're in the area! <br /><br />The best part of our day though was Moke Lake. We bought a book of places to camp in NZ and this was one of the recommended camp sites in the Queenstown area. It was spectacular! It was a bit of a drive down a gravel road but so worth it. We stayed in a valley surrounded by hills and mountains while camping by a beautiful lake. This was probably the most breathtaking spot we camped in in all of NZ. Go there. <br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN5-sws4RaHoe5I4F0aQj6N0aL7VjFfnH1C_EQVsleO2CI4_eTYkzuHsRFCZ1XgbRd6c8u60ttbqIQnfj41spbVOqygll53xDcWyYu1gwlMqc6KHQQZAnS04KSfrfUHp1E9ESF6ORul5KF/s1600/IMG_2916.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN5-sws4RaHoe5I4F0aQj6N0aL7VjFfnH1C_EQVsleO2CI4_eTYkzuHsRFCZ1XgbRd6c8u60ttbqIQnfj41spbVOqygll53xDcWyYu1gwlMqc6KHQQZAnS04KSfrfUHp1E9ESF6ORul5KF/s400/IMG_2916.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709243293202587634" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQvuOumI2FmQqf6iotAL6jQZzVk4epCaeXGyIcy93rM52pQ8n0w2BvS3gYZZNbBRSDlhK2CaCdSjFpozkcTKTKlZwAfxwcIoH6UXkKUdjtEvs8puUM4R4Lckst4hmWd3_jpJuKXhyphenhyphenamfgn/s1600/IMG_2915.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQvuOumI2FmQqf6iotAL6jQZzVk4epCaeXGyIcy93rM52pQ8n0w2BvS3gYZZNbBRSDlhK2CaCdSjFpozkcTKTKlZwAfxwcIoH6UXkKUdjtEvs8puUM4R4Lckst4hmWd3_jpJuKXhyphenhyphenamfgn/s400/IMG_2915.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709243287311643186" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhodAqevQ9j692jGtufVV9dN9KeN5-06-tWlT5qHqB_3eAwLDAdnn_DflUGJvaV0PniPE4EE6fMa0cuy2v_O8NAI7ifr6BcWJ80GTNfIYm7tfnwj-q94BG_7nkyyLde0z2gtTxAmcjIslB_/s1600/IMG_2789.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhodAqevQ9j692jGtufVV9dN9KeN5-06-tWlT5qHqB_3eAwLDAdnn_DflUGJvaV0PniPE4EE6fMa0cuy2v_O8NAI7ifr6BcWJ80GTNfIYm7tfnwj-q94BG_7nkyyLde0z2gtTxAmcjIslB_/s400/IMG_2789.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709243273596689154" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTg_2ei5oBcNeR3zG3MiVLHLWoM5pCqLU5dc7iSHUPhdp0Si3S9frKzDaVHRf044fSl5oJT_87uYto4eGDqcmq2yR-FM5vdl48Tw9jQAUupbDweskFCPc2MjJ1LUj4Yn6tYHl1TsLpZ79l/s1600/IMG_2807.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTg_2ei5oBcNeR3zG3MiVLHLWoM5pCqLU5dc7iSHUPhdp0Si3S9frKzDaVHRf044fSl5oJT_87uYto4eGDqcmq2yR-FM5vdl48Tw9jQAUupbDweskFCPc2MjJ1LUj4Yn6tYHl1TsLpZ79l/s400/IMG_2807.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709243268043334450" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Dec 28th - Milford Sound</span><br /><br />The drive from the camp site was a beautiful two hours long. The tunnel which opened up to a drive through mountains covered in waterfalls was particularly awesome. We pulled over and got out but didn't know where to point our cameras since everywhere we looked was so beautiful! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi57eYOC6kow0YtZmyqpss5wt6Llc0NyCnq8dPTK3xeU6nIPTcsLndJMDzH5t7zZhXDMJu-xLvqU3qgM-8riJXSzZyaHFfvlG6PnpVQL1RjBo5gv6-RfJpZXxlYQmm5QFNEUArPEIuIuhNR/s1600/IMG_2762.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi57eYOC6kow0YtZmyqpss5wt6Llc0NyCnq8dPTK3xeU6nIPTcsLndJMDzH5t7zZhXDMJu-xLvqU3qgM-8riJXSzZyaHFfvlG6PnpVQL1RjBo5gv6-RfJpZXxlYQmm5QFNEUArPEIuIuhNR/s400/IMG_2762.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709239036019390770" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcMXOYobEzXTyOur5ImZsayrpb5eigHH3fRhUAJ_AXPBqlu0Z7EjI0upRTipjo9ueE2BPYdngG6PI91IaZTMf3plEeZyEaKlr5gx1a4Tj9bPOuK6OvRCaZjbu49Pof4bDAzfZAwjONRCgs/s1600/IMG_2828.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcMXOYobEzXTyOur5ImZsayrpb5eigHH3fRhUAJ_AXPBqlu0Z7EjI0upRTipjo9ueE2BPYdngG6PI91IaZTMf3plEeZyEaKlr5gx1a4Tj9bPOuK6OvRCaZjbu49Pof4bDAzfZAwjONRCgs/s400/IMG_2828.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709241047598018338" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtqfjMtPC_IOTIn-z2cs29tYwYivB8_9dCfMHSHDvYTQ1A4-Vk6XqFpsCUlgNhrI0QZrCvdRZFL8w0fw0e7JTXYtV6SV-FtRBXq93JeV4aXzBcb2Qwb0hkImJiwvm6Ts43RSLF6OL6WZHF/s1600/IMG_2771.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtqfjMtPC_IOTIn-z2cs29tYwYivB8_9dCfMHSHDvYTQ1A4-Vk6XqFpsCUlgNhrI0QZrCvdRZFL8w0fw0e7JTXYtV6SV-FtRBXq93JeV4aXzBcb2Qwb0hkImJiwvm6Ts43RSLF6OL6WZHF/s400/IMG_2771.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709241038242012930" /></a><br /><br />We took the Southern Discovery Cruise through Milford Sound which lasted about 3 hours. We helped ourselves to their buffet and hot drinks straight away. We didn't want to get stuck inside when outside was so cool. We bought ponchos when it stated to rain which turned out to be a really good idea since we spent most of the cruise out on the deck where we saw dolphins (my first dolphin sighting ever!), lots of seals, waterfalls and just really great views of the sounds. Even with the ponchos we got really drenched but it was worth it for the view.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkrH_gKILVGlqtCXY_8hllssq3HICCMHW2Y0hV2GZhd-4NcBC8prx6J8vo1B4qZVvWn85glPmWfEdHnWRR5mys5uf4LKC3jQwF5va9adOIQvNJy44HVfZrmayNVyUpln9U00NRnzvMsneA/s1600/IMG_2847.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkrH_gKILVGlqtCXY_8hllssq3HICCMHW2Y0hV2GZhd-4NcBC8prx6J8vo1B4qZVvWn85glPmWfEdHnWRR5mys5uf4LKC3jQwF5va9adOIQvNJy44HVfZrmayNVyUpln9U00NRnzvMsneA/s400/IMG_2847.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709241069629751762" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgURdfFUmxXPzqEyNta4tjZQMyszHDdTE9uHhTebIXk3n0xP8w7JvOUyCbUwS2jmwi2mcl9ZFNGEZFCniUj8zlktP66MulyA09AVev1IB1cf8yCa_GGcbFuciJcFhpz6kiPDaVfyhbcFJI6/s1600/IMG_2840.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgURdfFUmxXPzqEyNta4tjZQMyszHDdTE9uHhTebIXk3n0xP8w7JvOUyCbUwS2jmwi2mcl9ZFNGEZFCniUj8zlktP66MulyA09AVev1IB1cf8yCa_GGcbFuciJcFhpz6kiPDaVfyhbcFJI6/s400/IMG_2840.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709241058503063442" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW_aEt8MhyJx34hUyvY7b8nZFKnBViR5PwYsYhyngkhD8N3E-TSno0IrV4kFCUBSMFdh296hTjFqyYnE9QWDTSkudNWnXWPF2PE3dATZe_up3sF4CEelhLWN1n1smS6IFsPae3HW4bZe2v/s1600/IMG_2837.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW_aEt8MhyJx34hUyvY7b8nZFKnBViR5PwYsYhyngkhD8N3E-TSno0IrV4kFCUBSMFdh296hTjFqyYnE9QWDTSkudNWnXWPF2PE3dATZe_up3sF4CEelhLWN1n1smS6IFsPae3HW4bZe2v/s400/IMG_2837.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709241051857224098" /></a><br /><br />We topped off the day with some tennis in the heat when we got back to Te Anau.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Dec 27th - Bluff</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAQ7DEpvIEJs0TDeEN1MecsKxyDOsvjdvisc7Yrv_AOf26yX_nMxdm3Hi6Yq6Ec5OkFf_r4x4qiMUio_dyo3X5DhVRimEfw6rzelIW7UMmu8l1K8cEjXVa8OMCgI_Gh8Do6z6MJspRVQ7-/s1600/IMG_0190.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAQ7DEpvIEJs0TDeEN1MecsKxyDOsvjdvisc7Yrv_AOf26yX_nMxdm3Hi6Yq6Ec5OkFf_r4x4qiMUio_dyo3X5DhVRimEfw6rzelIW7UMmu8l1K8cEjXVa8OMCgI_Gh8Do6z6MJspRVQ7-/s400/IMG_0190.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709238999132361138" /></a><br /><br />It is sad to be leaving Dunedin. We've really grown to love this place and the people here. The last few weeks have been especially great with the constant sunshine, having great times with friends, and just being surrounded by Kiwi kindnesses everywhere we went. We have also heard that when we get to Australia it may be a very different story...<br />Goodbye Dunedin! I will miss you!<br /><br />Our first stop, after saying our goodbyes to Struan, Visiting Yoobee one last time and leaving Dunedin, was in Bluff which is the southern most point of New Zealand. It wasn't overly exciting to be honest but it was still cool to know that the next thing south (other then Stuart Island) was Antarctica! <br /><br />We then took a nice route along the coast to Te Anau where we had a camp site reserved. The closer we got to Te Anau the more spectacular the views became with rolling valleys and hills. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG_sW4eLMIYxkMO8SjHn8eR2klyyy_rAjgqF09meUVqbq1-52rXhy9axdxBUYzTMzB0a30SU8whbHdWE-lg7mK4hA7zTD2nHEtOdchoqAEOpJiDpL5phQhQ14wHMcgJCaGBwXX3uzKrlQH/s1600/IMG_2779.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG_sW4eLMIYxkMO8SjHn8eR2klyyy_rAjgqF09meUVqbq1-52rXhy9axdxBUYzTMzB0a30SU8whbHdWE-lg7mK4hA7zTD2nHEtOdchoqAEOpJiDpL5phQhQ14wHMcgJCaGBwXX3uzKrlQH/s400/IMG_2779.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709238999925343602" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmBBoS0QYzX3oyj_DR18rBpKMa2tbRPKdXfZY2DALc_dAYESyubZpD6Sa6mR5UeiFXfb1sQYa8i5WKdmFZbm3x5_FsR_TaUNPOkiY9BMJGFLjn0u8u0Sagg9lGyTVyU-CldFqBojnHGioM/s1600/IMG_2787.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmBBoS0QYzX3oyj_DR18rBpKMa2tbRPKdXfZY2DALc_dAYESyubZpD6Sa6mR5UeiFXfb1sQYa8i5WKdmFZbm3x5_FsR_TaUNPOkiY9BMJGFLjn0u8u0Sagg9lGyTVyU-CldFqBojnHGioM/s400/IMG_2787.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709239010865223074" /></a><br /><br />It was our first time trying out our kitchen set up and we were very pleased! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSrUVpxVSdqwcOhC2aYrohopQE1R6OBzK6x7b2DyUhxl-_PSXYwlA5syMPy6PN0rZB19pUHQF2PybrHwTxMmAOkDwQFEURRDdEeJIDyBeWOlDBb4rhgNvjZQFwKxXU3fgwdUTDV__6yx_B/s1600/IMG_2797.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 224px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSrUVpxVSdqwcOhC2aYrohopQE1R6OBzK6x7b2DyUhxl-_PSXYwlA5syMPy6PN0rZB19pUHQF2PybrHwTxMmAOkDwQFEURRDdEeJIDyBeWOlDBb4rhgNvjZQFwKxXU3fgwdUTDV__6yx_B/s400/IMG_2797.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709239018796807666" /></a>Katie DeRochehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003624456162515224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7559654637313112615.post-75288543957706352662011-08-12T15:04:00.001-07:002011-08-12T15:09:55.488-07:00Proposal Pictures!Thank you Struan for taking pictures!!
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFLz0lJWDPc5AoHVRriYxc-gbfPIMntIFjGj7MNau30YuZSD5378A_nrvo1M3BHp2hjkM3FmNmmDPBd3cgKbyuDUEmn82x_oT5KW2rA9jTM5xUVb0TF-ZcJ4Ei24A0OoHlY0Z786sXv5FS/s1600/DSCF4452.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFLz0lJWDPc5AoHVRriYxc-gbfPIMntIFjGj7MNau30YuZSD5378A_nrvo1M3BHp2hjkM3FmNmmDPBd3cgKbyuDUEmn82x_oT5KW2rA9jTM5xUVb0TF-ZcJ4Ei24A0OoHlY0Z786sXv5FS/s400/DSCF4452.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640094407516297810" /></a>
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6M-tJ_eHqkT7Iufn4lBowWK6D8jCC4LqytalQRGOiPZ1f6HaVxenTKfb7pdo9bqwizF2eBl7Bhtv0EDGUb7SEVsd2f3reLiWUC3vv7ZfEbqhw6__wgToHwz4aoFbyZQf-4Z8WkIvVJ3Pf/s1600/DSCF4456.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6M-tJ_eHqkT7Iufn4lBowWK6D8jCC4LqytalQRGOiPZ1f6HaVxenTKfb7pdo9bqwizF2eBl7Bhtv0EDGUb7SEVsd2f3reLiWUC3vv7ZfEbqhw6__wgToHwz4aoFbyZQf-4Z8WkIvVJ3Pf/s400/DSCF4456.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640094415054422194" /></a>
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<br />Katie DeRochehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003624456162515224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7559654637313112615.post-39107288330227507352011-08-10T02:14:00.000-07:002011-08-10T20:41:20.923-07:00Engagement Story<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz9MWPGm-sHi_BRrPJY-QcwXJuk2ZzTp_Pz4xQtci0RmwLiwAg0NaaTaM8eev7QBwOtMZBIAVhkxoU18Wbg00xMOQE70MSp-ET3Kmbs3u0CL8PIMBAILst4YrEFQEwaEjZ5jD0duoMb2_W/s1600/IMG_2367.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 170px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz9MWPGm-sHi_BRrPJY-QcwXJuk2ZzTp_Pz4xQtci0RmwLiwAg0NaaTaM8eev7QBwOtMZBIAVhkxoU18Wbg00xMOQE70MSp-ET3Kmbs3u0CL8PIMBAILst4YrEFQEwaEjZ5jD0duoMb2_W/s320/IMG_2367.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639436356599827842" /></a>
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<br />John and I are engaged!!!! And here's the story of how it happened...
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<br />John and I booked tickets to go to Sydney, Australia about 3 months ago. I knew the plan was to stay with John's friend Struan and see the Sydney sights while we stayed there for a week but I had no idea how much more planning was going into this trip, a trip that I will never forget...
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<br />On our last night we took a trip to downtown Sydney heading to the hotel where we (John) had booked a room for the night. I believe he used the words "Backpacker" and "shared" while describing the place to me. But to my absolute surprise we stopped at a very fancy Sir Stamford Hotel. There we swam in the outdoor heated pool on their roof for an hour or so and ran back to our suite in our cosy white robes to get ready to find a place to go for dinner. While we were getting ready to go John called me over to the couch and showed me a video that he had made for me. It was a message of love that John had written for me and he got my parents, my sister Holly, my friends Sarah and Peter, John's parents and his sister Jenny and our friend Ben all to read his words. Thank you to everyone who was in the video, it means so much and was an important part of our special day. I watched it with tears of happiness and love but as overwhelmed as I was with the sweetness and thoughtfulness of my boyfriend...I had no idea what was in store...
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<br />For dinner we were (I was) thinking of getting some Italian food but again I was led into another surprise. John led me to a restaurant, Aria, which overlooks the Sydney harbor, the Opera House and the bridge. It was very fancy and everyone was so polite, we had an amazing view while we ate our delicious food which was to die for.
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<br />*I should mention that John did a spectacular job at looking normal, calm and relaxed. I suspected nothing out of the ordinary. We had talked about it being a year since we met in Ireland last summer and so I was expecting that all this was a celebration of us and our year together.*
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<br />After our amazing dinner John and I walked down to the Opera House for one last view before leaving the next morning. It was a beautiful night with clear skies and a little breeze and we strolled slowly down the walkway that wraps around the opera house. We came to a stop where not many people were around, just a small group of people leaning on the railing. John and I stopped to take it all in once more. We kissed and cuddled while talking about how much we truly love each other and how happy we are.
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<br />*My one clue was as we were cuddling I could feel John's heart pounding and I began to suspect...*
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<br />John then lead me a little closer to the opera hous<a href=""><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMr9zCvtOfY&feature=related"></a></a>e when John called to Struan! who was sneakily hiding in the shadows waiting for us. He strolled over with a small book in his hand which was given to me. "A Love Story". It was a short story about us that John had written and put together with pictures. As I began to read the story I noticed that the group of people by the railing were walking towards us and...they started to sing! They were an a Capella group and they sang a beautiful arrangement of a song that John and I love to sing along to on the radio; "Marry You" by Bruno Mars (here's a link to the song if you don't know it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMr9zCvtOfY&feature=related )
<br />
<br />The last page of the book was a picture of John down on one knee with a ring in his hand which is when John took a knee and asked me to marry him. HOW COULD I SAY NO????!!!!
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<br />John had bought the ring in December! And had it when we got to New Zealand and I'm sure was stressed about it after the earthquake in Christchurch. I just can't imagine how hard it was to make sure that I didn't find out about any of this.
<br />
<br />I am the luckiest girl in the world. The man I love more than anything asked me to marry him!
<br />John had mentioned that when he proposed it would be a big romantic thing... I really had no idea.
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<br />So happy.
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<br />Katie DeRochehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003624456162515224noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7559654637313112615.post-7996338553076694672011-05-30T21:32:00.000-07:002011-05-30T21:41:09.039-07:00PicturesJust some pictures of my work space at Cadbury's (and the chocolate bowl I have to stare at all day) and also some pictures of the outside of our flat (and the neighbors cat).<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqrhx9MKl7Y4oP3-mBL0MuMQmJYTDIB6ZBMstv5XoJ0ndeynDaivpJA6HouAesvlEJuUc5Ewd7rQw42uc1I2b6Nt4p7V8NrNYdgSwuxrnrGk4Q127RmC8z1gskWDzHIuDClmh_sqBowyGP/s1600/IMG_2266.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 179px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqrhx9MKl7Y4oP3-mBL0MuMQmJYTDIB6ZBMstv5XoJ0ndeynDaivpJA6HouAesvlEJuUc5Ewd7rQw42uc1I2b6Nt4p7V8NrNYdgSwuxrnrGk4Q127RmC8z1gskWDzHIuDClmh_sqBowyGP/s320/IMG_2266.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5612735256017963986" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgUdstkXSyLk353Vv1A2Vmj-eBJ_2JlT1y04oRuj8FEAZbQbIFylxZGsn43TbRA7mHjKFJpSeNar-kkmGgiwYjSblZpDsu2euvtn5pmuuCtF6G7uZMNsba8-zcZ0UU-zTcFQ-22gy9JCYE/s1600/IMG_2264.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgUdstkXSyLk353Vv1A2Vmj-eBJ_2JlT1y04oRuj8FEAZbQbIFylxZGsn43TbRA7mHjKFJpSeNar-kkmGgiwYjSblZpDsu2euvtn5pmuuCtF6G7uZMNsba8-zcZ0UU-zTcFQ-22gy9JCYE/s320/IMG_2264.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5612735251593741346" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaHTSgFgaxCH6OxXq9sp_5oFsGSuVG-gvYxmfwMPbEYXT74M4yYnP7B-EYJn9x_txEMYngF8-tyh7N9WgwMh0D46qlC-n2ateeQziVbHZv9eFkyG-M1p0bpAeTPWv2J-06UTkoOvGVOfYY/s1600/IMG_2261.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaHTSgFgaxCH6OxXq9sp_5oFsGSuVG-gvYxmfwMPbEYXT74M4yYnP7B-EYJn9x_txEMYngF8-tyh7N9WgwMh0D46qlC-n2ateeQziVbHZv9eFkyG-M1p0bpAeTPWv2J-06UTkoOvGVOfYY/s320/IMG_2261.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5612735246969988290" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWlFT1rBobDazPXVFYrRETk_pd3479xG7QlO64W8j_W7fpsNcz6wtOr5pyXZDC1AMzyas0mllNXR9mh3l-BbG_gTX7r4xGstXE9jRu3yj76frt1OLmOjkZmQ2ZPczZMV6sOuITPOn8b0_u/s1600/IMG_2259.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWlFT1rBobDazPXVFYrRETk_pd3479xG7QlO64W8j_W7fpsNcz6wtOr5pyXZDC1AMzyas0mllNXR9mh3l-BbG_gTX7r4xGstXE9jRu3yj76frt1OLmOjkZmQ2ZPczZMV6sOuITPOn8b0_u/s320/IMG_2259.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5612735243836018642" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizDn8Q3tqcxSK9AHgfirZtjRJn_B9cjN5s_ecTXRoGoPmUW7iVc15dd5zYomja0MWIQWNUSTM6GZO5hXxESurdsXj1gtuB_Ch4jU69PHzEPkn_eF5kYJ5Olm31wxem9Ewqjqq2bOi-t36s/s1600/IMG_2257.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizDn8Q3tqcxSK9AHgfirZtjRJn_B9cjN5s_ecTXRoGoPmUW7iVc15dd5zYomja0MWIQWNUSTM6GZO5hXxESurdsXj1gtuB_Ch4jU69PHzEPkn_eF5kYJ5Olm31wxem9Ewqjqq2bOi-t36s/s320/IMG_2257.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5612735236478891202" /></a>Katie DeRochehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003624456162515224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7559654637313112615.post-8035363837383967672011-04-26T20:45:00.000-07:002011-04-26T21:36:10.391-07:00Queenstown/Wanaka Trip<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGf-9Ea48dQOOELWadnXknyOhaVZCXvJNKN_umMcIIExfvdCIEslc2U8kencl9humBK7bCBdbmIcjN0W9CVkb1FtbTe2oSVx603GvIvrj1qUTTS1ToBPP1DUJCVrqhTQ-aXv7eBqJhcXWw/s1600/IMG_2066.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGf-9Ea48dQOOELWadnXknyOhaVZCXvJNKN_umMcIIExfvdCIEslc2U8kencl9humBK7bCBdbmIcjN0W9CVkb1FtbTe2oSVx603GvIvrj1qUTTS1ToBPP1DUJCVrqhTQ-aXv7eBqJhcXWw/s320/IMG_2066.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600111943464763522" /></a><br />So lots of things have happened since the last post...<br /><br />John and I found out that we needed a new vehicle because our Nissan Maxima (Jerry) has been acting up. Turns out we need to basically replace the transmission which would cost about triple the amount we actually paid for the car. So we've been keeping our eyes out for vehicles for sale. <br />We quickly found a white Toyota Previa van selling for the right price. Apparently the owner was leaving town and was in a hurry to sell so we got it and have fixed it but while staying under our budget. <br />This weekend John and I both had 3 days off for Easter so we decided to set up the new van like a camper van and take a trip to Queenstown and Wanaka. <br />The trip was awesome, the van worked great and we were blessed with some amazing weather while we were there. <br />We didn't go too crazy in Queenstown, which is the place to go for the extreme activities (bungy jumping, sky diving, zip lining, etc.), since we'll be going back again probably once summer comes around. We had a great time playing frisbee in the park while enjoying the sight of the misty mountains (LOTR) and going for a bit of a hike by the lake. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisSGGwoGUjin7N4dbVRgUwnAdEDEEel7btGlDQ1BkVdOW7NL5ia91Oin1cUQBeclmypmfHxpYvDCRagHIEcF9LOMz8m5GVdA7W8MkduCvGlCn_xmJJYqVhOasKZw8f1LJ8OMQNE09xt-nv/s1600/IMG_2104.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisSGGwoGUjin7N4dbVRgUwnAdEDEEel7btGlDQ1BkVdOW7NL5ia91Oin1cUQBeclmypmfHxpYvDCRagHIEcF9LOMz8m5GVdA7W8MkduCvGlCn_xmJJYqVhOasKZw8f1LJ8OMQNE09xt-nv/s320/IMG_2104.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600111953636458482" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEhjaihlqocxeLX3H_iEdlrawBGmKJ99RY3JCr9dfXQ04TgmFqvBZrLru6umArKYtSlpYpHHa3pKdmURx5Q5X6FSNDINk5V8mciXqA9sdtIxmoGSasuoevB7ZsTt_WxB-tsI1h6PR9ASeC/s1600/IMG_2103.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEhjaihlqocxeLX3H_iEdlrawBGmKJ99RY3JCr9dfXQ04TgmFqvBZrLru6umArKYtSlpYpHHa3pKdmURx5Q5X6FSNDINk5V8mciXqA9sdtIxmoGSasuoevB7ZsTt_WxB-tsI1h6PR9ASeC/s320/IMG_2103.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600111947675044738" /></a><br />We did see some people go bungy jumping which looked terrifying and made me want to do it even less then I already did. <br />We left Queenstown and took the mountain pass which goes through Cardrona to get to Wanaka. Cardrona was a beautiful climb up a mountain where we had a sweet view of Queenstown and beyond. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Tjugg4TbORx4dg42fWlx7EShwUDT_y3ZLhueCw8mz-PWiOOWHA_-mTEMSAuL9cZdza7mtp6qffWR2xIOH5Sr1ee-8m36v_L6eFb39wro1wqXbJCLOxXUZivMyftI7_bV7TrV4G_svF4w/s1600/IMG_2122.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Tjugg4TbORx4dg42fWlx7EShwUDT_y3ZLhueCw8mz-PWiOOWHA_-mTEMSAuL9cZdza7mtp6qffWR2xIOH5Sr1ee-8m36v_L6eFb39wro1wqXbJCLOxXUZivMyftI7_bV7TrV4G_svF4w/s320/IMG_2122.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600111956304735122" /></a><br />We drove through Cardrona which was a very small place but with an enormous view. We were pleasantly surprised to find a spigot to refill out water bottles by the old one room school house. <br />When we got to Wanaka the sun was shining and there was very little breeze. We made a beeline for the lake and found a giant open park with a perfect view of the water and mountains while we played frisbee. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFIOdxnLKu3DLoylEkuOjucxIXHfyC0hwg_wBaX9uFfFLiK0Uh-jRK2t2mFs_y804e-sSv5UklQh0YgsH_2PmFMalOldUShCZrsnUiatSIt3WuRkkXeuPTEw9drhyphenhyphenOFSHqsALOCwCxbxaj/s1600/IMG_2129.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFIOdxnLKu3DLoylEkuOjucxIXHfyC0hwg_wBaX9uFfFLiK0Uh-jRK2t2mFs_y804e-sSv5UklQh0YgsH_2PmFMalOldUShCZrsnUiatSIt3WuRkkXeuPTEw9drhyphenhyphenOFSHqsALOCwCxbxaj/s320/IMG_2129.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600111961972684914" /></a><br />We had lunch on the beach... <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_uyVC7MSrBqvkakwE_sNsYyoDvnnYJIPYeh-Da1RdpQ-sfCjs3wsVyKXc8eC3tnKk4rbITHYPREj_jy0ZJFArJBUo2OfmTVXhwTIM4o4HmayVfmV3iT5YxgA7fMskw7gmmZTrS7BVAjwA/s1600/IMG_2133.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_uyVC7MSrBqvkakwE_sNsYyoDvnnYJIPYeh-Da1RdpQ-sfCjs3wsVyKXc8eC3tnKk4rbITHYPREj_jy0ZJFArJBUo2OfmTVXhwTIM4o4HmayVfmV3iT5YxgA7fMskw7gmmZTrS7BVAjwA/s320/IMG_2133.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600113515771701698" /></a><br />...and then made our way to the Mount Iron Track which is a hiking trail just outside of Wanaka which takes about an hour and a half to do. We took our time and got to the top just in time for sunset. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVNXJBNRZb_a_CtsuEpmdvo-FOD7Sr5AQzZ28XY-Z2pRZXBuZnWKq-KpGb8YrTdWyAF4PLv9GbjPv_Q8bVKTBZqPPv_OycEe34WxEnl3z6Fs-1lxVfYSOCkcxmUZq8HYkdEdAHjQda57IM/s1600/IMG_2147.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 107px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVNXJBNRZb_a_CtsuEpmdvo-FOD7Sr5AQzZ28XY-Z2pRZXBuZnWKq-KpGb8YrTdWyAF4PLv9GbjPv_Q8bVKTBZqPPv_OycEe34WxEnl3z6Fs-1lxVfYSOCkcxmUZq8HYkdEdAHjQda57IM/s320/IMG_2147.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600113516355819330" /></a><br />It was spectacular and we're so glad that we got to see it from such a great view point.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQCMb9WPZqdUhkuojY4gU4R71O0XvRp8snmWvWIlO_I8WG22wMHkqTgtXNxfB4Xt7wj8krBESrfLTzcxe5xbSqjYVUmgP1fmR_8O5In03rZorFfOvoQ4fAVGFVtYhlhF2GzpLtK_yNKZac/s1600/IMG_2171.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQCMb9WPZqdUhkuojY4gU4R71O0XvRp8snmWvWIlO_I8WG22wMHkqTgtXNxfB4Xt7wj8krBESrfLTzcxe5xbSqjYVUmgP1fmR_8O5In03rZorFfOvoQ4fAVGFVtYhlhF2GzpLtK_yNKZac/s320/IMG_2171.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600114001306371074" /></a><br />On the way back home we stopped in the Roxburgh Orchard Valley for some fresh Golden Delicious apples. And also enjoyed the rest of our time in the sun at a rest stop off the highway. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSMq7xtDAOFUX4Ip1B-0iyo5vWOwdRiX-dlJfJO9UmDsxBA3MM_lUExyOpD5gICfN8wWu-VeYzlzBajaPoYdQvOPJmmAChKGdYXmhs7pzEnr2w9P9qR2ue3bb1u0UQUGPPOtllhYxbC5k7/s1600/IMG_2235.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSMq7xtDAOFUX4Ip1B-0iyo5vWOwdRiX-dlJfJO9UmDsxBA3MM_lUExyOpD5gICfN8wWu-VeYzlzBajaPoYdQvOPJmmAChKGdYXmhs7pzEnr2w9P9qR2ue3bb1u0UQUGPPOtllhYxbC5k7/s320/IMG_2235.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600116136789646930" /></a><br /><br />Awesome trip all around.Katie DeRochehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003624456162515224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7559654637313112615.post-64100358236225028352011-03-23T21:50:00.000-07:002011-03-23T22:20:31.957-07:00Cadbury FactoryI just heard that I got a job that I interviewed for this morning at the Cadbury Factory. I'm going to be working mornings (8:00-1:00pm) at reception and it's supposed to go until December. This is really great news. Knowing that I'm done desperately looking for a job is a great feeling. So glad that I got in with Select Recruitment who got me the interview.<br /><br />Also John and I went to Aramoana Beach again. We played frisbee and laid on our blanket in the sun. We ate some sandwiches that we brought with us and enjoyed the huge flat beach almost all to ourselves. We saw an awesome seal today and got to see it rolling in the sand on it's back rubbing it's belly with it's fins and watched it hop around the beach. So awesome.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvqhqzHy2m12nbE_xSBxnukiGlD-wRkdfh5MCCmpMWo4RdGnT-6kvnFem2JRB3g5Pm1O55AGoSKmFEwjGwsmoqUwrMfc9niEJ8xjW_8Cpy8Mi2ZaYmljjP5-wyx6IiRlPR-o-zxEMdyA9i/s1600/IMG_1982.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvqhqzHy2m12nbE_xSBxnukiGlD-wRkdfh5MCCmpMWo4RdGnT-6kvnFem2JRB3g5Pm1O55AGoSKmFEwjGwsmoqUwrMfc9niEJ8xjW_8Cpy8Mi2ZaYmljjP5-wyx6IiRlPR-o-zxEMdyA9i/s320/IMG_1982.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587509347024671682" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6l3q85-eQQ7ZjvEpuS7gVWXDIFXYuYLEwaRzVMYpxokYL3MTLS9_dh1KjffUTkdUNhj1XUbtpu8IHq0fEbX57FjBv6cy16dKfgfe1d7-XvNavkWzqJHwcZXyL6cHZeMAIKylLTrGQAzpo/s1600/IMG_1997.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 179px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6l3q85-eQQ7ZjvEpuS7gVWXDIFXYuYLEwaRzVMYpxokYL3MTLS9_dh1KjffUTkdUNhj1XUbtpu8IHq0fEbX57FjBv6cy16dKfgfe1d7-XvNavkWzqJHwcZXyL6cHZeMAIKylLTrGQAzpo/s320/IMG_1997.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587509353977373570" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZF-eWNxUOAzIR47JKc6UCydts6xUVgAmmq2j1QPmO-8TapQmmTTdQDsKHnXP9s4AmNel0dJz7atIawRcpTvm3UCsvU1hiGBTDlUFVHxQDagczeKzPlmDQrNBq8vO9kHcwS5VB73x4IDsX/s1600/IMG_1976.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 179px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZF-eWNxUOAzIR47JKc6UCydts6xUVgAmmq2j1QPmO-8TapQmmTTdQDsKHnXP9s4AmNel0dJz7atIawRcpTvm3UCsvU1hiGBTDlUFVHxQDagczeKzPlmDQrNBq8vO9kHcwS5VB73x4IDsX/s320/IMG_1976.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587510686978398130" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwoX8Rqdt3pFJVzxh36jATeH9Zpw8KXtFkL_PvE-zQlipJoJcU7xUT7V87W2Mk1QK7hK1aJp0focO8xVsAHvUjj-nDtfuuTzraRdMoFv-qmNXcKYKtW1af313q5VsfTh9vgKgT0VKkCUjm/s1600/IMG_1993.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 179px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwoX8Rqdt3pFJVzxh36jATeH9Zpw8KXtFkL_PvE-zQlipJoJcU7xUT7V87W2Mk1QK7hK1aJp0focO8xVsAHvUjj-nDtfuuTzraRdMoFv-qmNXcKYKtW1af313q5VsfTh9vgKgT0VKkCUjm/s320/IMG_1993.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587511472358997426" /></a>Katie DeRochehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003624456162515224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7559654637313112615.post-82438004905143434212011-03-14T20:08:00.001-07:002011-03-15T17:01:37.595-07:00Aramoana BeachJohn and I had an anniversary this weekend and we went to a beach in an area called Aramoana. Just about 40 minutes from home. We decided to go there since it happened to be an extremely beautiful sunny day (unlike the many rainy days we were getting used to encountering) and we had seen this beach across the harbor from the Otago Peninsula a few weeks ago and thought it looked beautiful. <br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiexWsnPDy4IPnaAN3Wl-aOdZXcD47oyL2HJyYN67KpiV2pzXLb9uVm0uDGQTonxvYauK29HyI1dZ1LhbR-MzMFB-yEkP_h4U_pi4v4DcspJ3eZtRkHrr0GpvA8ZG_r9QmH4H4sNrg10uVf/s1600/IMG_1938.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiexWsnPDy4IPnaAN3Wl-aOdZXcD47oyL2HJyYN67KpiV2pzXLb9uVm0uDGQTonxvYauK29HyI1dZ1LhbR-MzMFB-yEkP_h4U_pi4v4DcspJ3eZtRkHrr0GpvA8ZG_r9QmH4H4sNrg10uVf/s320/IMG_1938.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584142429573099362" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4rMGAp3NaL-i_kGL0eWlV65EVujyatc2XdiFAusZm4mgrcYlhI8i747iqMOtG-ycciWmkIdLp6fPx4XwurRFWYOOKxmBLV4iFPVQmrbtcz5PA218VJ80vVnvxZFMKkjfj-c2p9MhwijcW/s1600/IMG_1934.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4rMGAp3NaL-i_kGL0eWlV65EVujyatc2XdiFAusZm4mgrcYlhI8i747iqMOtG-ycciWmkIdLp6fPx4XwurRFWYOOKxmBLV4iFPVQmrbtcz5PA218VJ80vVnvxZFMKkjfj-c2p9MhwijcW/s320/IMG_1934.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584142422742418034" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwTUv0FNw8gIdW-CRH2Rl-zU9KAhDnUBonkNH1hfAqUmy5akOHJjLma0uNAEtBNj8GYSMpIFpTZkRUEc4b4mhL99fkgTdKxeAHc-NpbuTuLV9ZwHl1-IYgS9cvHEDHIVvQPx5nGlXiNE2m/s1600/IMG_1946.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwTUv0FNw8gIdW-CRH2Rl-zU9KAhDnUBonkNH1hfAqUmy5akOHJjLma0uNAEtBNj8GYSMpIFpTZkRUEc4b4mhL99fkgTdKxeAHc-NpbuTuLV9ZwHl1-IYgS9cvHEDHIVvQPx5nGlXiNE2m/s320/IMG_1946.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584142438186186114" /></a><br /><br />We got a private visit from a seal while we were walking far down the beach away from the people closer to the road. It was so great watching him jump around the waves.<br />We followed the seal as he swam along the shore and then out oft he water to hop around a rocky area. He went just out of sight behind a large rock and we decided to follow slowly just to see where he went. As we neared the point where we had seen him last we realized after hearing three loud barking sounds that there was a giant seal snuggled into the base of the big rock! We took some calm steps away from the huge I believe to be fur seal and watched it for a while. It was very big and lazy and we were very glad to have seen seals so close up and to have the experience all to ourselves. <br /><br />John checking out the seal<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkoBy1jEkeAjEyIUpWxfC7icPkNfqzm2RhXQbuezqahA2yd13B2MUPjweAGiRRE8J-tqv9z9cQMnIefU5AkvCaSMlBf8yp6SHpacIr0rjfgl1i4JDIJCNz3Ml_YmaDznmpLA9oFxFch0yg/s1600/IMG_1947.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 179px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkoBy1jEkeAjEyIUpWxfC7icPkNfqzm2RhXQbuezqahA2yd13B2MUPjweAGiRRE8J-tqv9z9cQMnIefU5AkvCaSMlBf8yp6SHpacIr0rjfgl1i4JDIJCNz3Ml_YmaDznmpLA9oFxFch0yg/s320/IMG_1947.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584146714394938690" /></a><br />The fur seal's head. Hard to see but he's there.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5x_KvvFMuYfQDFaHKlGW3c2zaiD6wr7S6jv_tbCKuBzoXzN0rnOupFM_RqyLbr9STlk67au7cfa768NmL5o9F-4rk2nsHYJZ-Rr46H_MoJxuOWaDEygAXtGgEDTe9NBbROVcLwdRwef-B/s1600/IMG_1948.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5x_KvvFMuYfQDFaHKlGW3c2zaiD6wr7S6jv_tbCKuBzoXzN0rnOupFM_RqyLbr9STlk67au7cfa768NmL5o9F-4rk2nsHYJZ-Rr46H_MoJxuOWaDEygAXtGgEDTe9NBbROVcLwdRwef-B/s320/IMG_1948.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584146704050286322" /></a><br /><br />The wide open beach gave us lots of room to play some frisbee. It wasn't a busy beach at all and we may have found out why yesterday when John was telling his coworkers about it. Apparently they were surprised when he mentioned the beach we had gone to and they were reluctant to explain why. They then informed him that there was a shooting massacre in the Aramoana area where 13 people were killed by a crazed gunman with a semi automatic rifle in 1990. So I guess people don't go around there much anymore...<br /><br />But really that happened over 20 years ago, the beach is amazing and we would go again any day. <br /><br />Happy six crazy amazingly adventurous months John my Love.Katie DeRochehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003624456162515224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7559654637313112615.post-72032066586330696522011-03-10T14:07:00.000-08:002011-03-10T14:25:05.623-08:00The CatlinsJohn and I drove to the Catlins last weekend which are about an hour and a half drive South of Dunedin. There was rain in the forecast but we decided to go anyway.<br /><br />The Catlins are known for their water falls, their costal views and their dense rain forests. We visited Purakaunui Falls first.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqARdqFTNaj2pit7Z6GRt6zKEDggfC9jImURWKDl1Yoy2Le2kef_udrsT2HuN3-jIhC5iT3fm9fA7y5Kn40LLfeAEPyd_yYjthFSZozqasnfhlhy7ArA99swdx9naSQ0qknqiEjDE1n2_Q/s1600/IMG_0134.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqARdqFTNaj2pit7Z6GRt6zKEDggfC9jImURWKDl1Yoy2Le2kef_udrsT2HuN3-jIhC5iT3fm9fA7y5Kn40LLfeAEPyd_yYjthFSZozqasnfhlhy7ArA99swdx9naSQ0qknqiEjDE1n2_Q/s320/IMG_0134.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582577256656404482" /></a><br /><br />Very beautiful, not as small as we hoped but we especially liked to walk through basically a rain forest. Very cool.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8V75B7cBNAjgN_BzfnXYg0a9vUY-2LrUASn_c6Gb0iUVVWwBFxJGV_AU1y6xEWjbC3W0tQ8YG2h13vI85rLLAMIFvfnmrYgEEuPV-272L4H672upo71Pqp2jQ8Waeo0K0_6VYaI3zSRFj/s1600/IMG_0155.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8V75B7cBNAjgN_BzfnXYg0a9vUY-2LrUASn_c6Gb0iUVVWwBFxJGV_AU1y6xEWjbC3W0tQ8YG2h13vI85rLLAMIFvfnmrYgEEuPV-272L4H672upo71Pqp2jQ8Waeo0K0_6VYaI3zSRFj/s320/IMG_0155.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582577983049216626" /></a><br /><br />We also visited Matai Falls not too far away. And it was also a really nice walk. Very relaxing day.<br /><br />On the way home we decided to stop by Nugget Point which is supposed to be a common place to see seals and penguins. We had no idea it was going to be such a beautiful view point of the coast. At first we saw that it was a 900 m walk and it felt like rain was coming. But we were so glad that we went. We did get to see seals but from very far away. We could see from the lighthouse a pool of them playing down among the rocks. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrjIMKf8Y8iXZkS3oXTxNEXOK-hu03h6Z4Ykzh3wMVOX6XQXK8xTcNNO9lUsWqL4GmYyy7aHTuX-6yC1e9KBrknHQLh-gqaPl2nvVHNZCosjXD3ywnzqSpd3WR3uorz_iMz7DGuMgRe9Ie/s1600/IMG_1913.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 144px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrjIMKf8Y8iXZkS3oXTxNEXOK-hu03h6Z4Ykzh3wMVOX6XQXK8xTcNNO9lUsWqL4GmYyy7aHTuX-6yC1e9KBrknHQLh-gqaPl2nvVHNZCosjXD3ywnzqSpd3WR3uorz_iMz7DGuMgRe9Ie/s320/IMG_1913.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582579294960422370" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM1V3GutuKuzJWAX-6nO56x1Whc3K52b0u-QsSpUPPSNgqSoV2N9RDqaJDpv8PhPYUu2A9cJ7aAaZ2jdQaoVnGCZhy_Lk2B1ob8L5nxmkQ8A9NpauZW0_VGFfYxwMqQceAOCApmVrTkC5n/s1600/IMG_1904.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM1V3GutuKuzJWAX-6nO56x1Whc3K52b0u-QsSpUPPSNgqSoV2N9RDqaJDpv8PhPYUu2A9cJ7aAaZ2jdQaoVnGCZhy_Lk2B1ob8L5nxmkQ8A9NpauZW0_VGFfYxwMqQceAOCApmVrTkC5n/s320/IMG_1904.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582579288582865602" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMBxvMlZ9fQHTOra9uwCGpk6oT_15l2gYVMJnpFNl5xFm3xqzp32LXEJLGNh-NqYL9ryGz_HzA3sSr7qlS60zY-CqKpVMI4fr9NnhDVAu5UoQ6gJgX34oisJZRJYVdueYZMWHr5oz_URHI/s1600/IMG_1894.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMBxvMlZ9fQHTOra9uwCGpk6oT_15l2gYVMJnpFNl5xFm3xqzp32LXEJLGNh-NqYL9ryGz_HzA3sSr7qlS60zY-CqKpVMI4fr9NnhDVAu5UoQ6gJgX34oisJZRJYVdueYZMWHr5oz_URHI/s320/IMG_1894.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582579285561977538" /></a><br /><br />We still havn't seen penguins officially. We believe we saw one in the form of road kill while on the peninsula but we won't count that...<br /><br />I'm off today (Friday). I finished my short 4 day work contract and now awaiting the call for a new job hopefully starting next week.Katie DeRochehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003624456162515224noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7559654637313112615.post-73768586572576418942011-03-06T17:05:00.000-08:002011-03-06T17:27:15.296-08:001st Day of WorkI just finished chatting with a nice man who came into the office fixing the xerox machine. He recognized my accent and told me about how he had been to Canada many years ago. I mentioned that I am from Prince Edward Island and then found out that he had travelled to PEI by ferry during his trip(before the era of the confederation bridge). He met a nice older woman on the ferry and eventually her husband once they arrived who ended up showing them around the Island while they stayed with them for a week. Islanders are great. <br />This actually reminds me of when John and I were checking into our flights at the Vancouver airport. We somehow got talking about where we were coming from and the agent said that he only knew one person from PEI who owns a little cafe in Victoria. Knowing that there were only a select few cafes in Victoria by the Sea I knew it was the Landmark Cafe.<br />Out of all the desks we were called up to the one where the agent was a man who went to school with one of my dad's closest friends, Eugene Sauve, and who I've known for many years. I also worked for Eugene at his restaurant/cafe in last summer.<br /><br />Such a small world.<br /><br />As you can see I am very busy here at work. I'm working for NewlCast, Dunedin. Thay are doing a team building training thing for week so I am here in the office answering the phone, taking messages and greeting customers. <br /><br />Will probably be taking my knitting tomorrow...Katie DeRochehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003624456162515224noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7559654637313112615.post-91752976277928675562011-03-03T17:05:00.000-08:002011-03-03T17:29:23.929-08:00WorkingI (Katie) just got back from a consultation at a temp agency and now have at least a short term contract set up to work all next week as a receptionist. The woman I met with seemed very hopeful in finding me a longer contract perhaps working for the University of Otago so we'll see what happens. So John and I are both officially working, so far so good.<br /><br />Found a video store just down the street that rents movies for $1. Danger. <br />Also found a Salvation army that has drawers and drawers of knitting needles and some well priced yarn. <br />Not so bad for a second choice city. <br /><br />Pictures of our walk on the beach by our house...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHgCzCyKgL7H5i0h6ryVuhGTsmJ9EJllfd5QrLFQj7cBu5qkV-MpXPCm6bQoc_bTLrIheD2uf2MsQ-0fL0zyLP-8ypiqvkT8U_wV367TAcNCkcy5cLZ94NusT-NRL3O_XhbAicaY4ttqKh/s1600/IMG_0127.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHgCzCyKgL7H5i0h6ryVuhGTsmJ9EJllfd5QrLFQj7cBu5qkV-MpXPCm6bQoc_bTLrIheD2uf2MsQ-0fL0zyLP-8ypiqvkT8U_wV367TAcNCkcy5cLZ94NusT-NRL3O_XhbAicaY4ttqKh/s320/IMG_0127.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580030589553591314" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXelNgUlF-VHAz21XR3IXeNXGJjELM8Kimx2gEBhlY5NEUe45S4WghvLCU5gu3MjXSl1zPWKWto5xiCTMH3Fw3ikkX0xnK6LH53Y1qnUqkuA2HLZSqNnv8Z_xXZkaZvKLINtdHtQpRUqE5/s1600/IMG_0118.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXelNgUlF-VHAz21XR3IXeNXGJjELM8Kimx2gEBhlY5NEUe45S4WghvLCU5gu3MjXSl1zPWKWto5xiCTMH3Fw3ikkX0xnK6LH53Y1qnUqkuA2HLZSqNnv8Z_xXZkaZvKLINtdHtQpRUqE5/s320/IMG_0118.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580030579457441554" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDz9equ7A-iWssbklNXzvW9T2RkbFcQuqIo5b5Roi2Dx1zgW99V_BqRzzr_pjaCWf_7lkSB3keZv_jfKbaQj2jjehsTuKnHUxSAKy7KOKgII25SBCi-4_k4nyBYND36IfnE96o2jPfsakK/s1600/IMG_0115.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDz9equ7A-iWssbklNXzvW9T2RkbFcQuqIo5b5Roi2Dx1zgW99V_BqRzzr_pjaCWf_7lkSB3keZv_jfKbaQj2jjehsTuKnHUxSAKy7KOKgII25SBCi-4_k4nyBYND36IfnE96o2jPfsakK/s320/IMG_0115.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580030575083265922" /></a>Katie DeRochehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003624456162515224noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7559654637313112615.post-19346726090930044582011-02-28T17:35:00.000-08:002011-02-28T17:59:16.415-08:00Otago PeninsulaWe went for a drive around the Otago Peninsula today in hope to see some penguins. Unfortunately we were unsuccessful other then seeing one penguin in the form of roadkill...<br />It only took us about 15 minutes to get to the beginning from our apartment and right away we knew it was going to be a beautiful drive. The whole time we drove we were surrounded by gorgeous landscape. We followed the narrow Portobello Rd along the coast and me still not quite being used to the other side driving I found it a little unnerving being so close to the edge. <br />We drove through a few small communities and past a golf course until we got to a Royal Albatross Center at Taiaroa Head (the farthest you can go on paved roads). We had a great view off the coast and of a lighthouse looking out over the cliffs.<br /><br /><br />John and I are lucky to have had the chance to see Castle Hill and Arthur's Pass while we were in Christchurch. We really loved it up there in the mountains and were sad to have to go so far away from them. But if we thought we were driving away from beauty we were wrong. The longer that we stay and the more we see here, the more we fall in love with this place. <br /><br /> John is at work now. His work has transferred him to the Yoobee/MagnumMac store here in Dunedin. It's very much a blessing that he didn't even have to look for work here. <br /><br />Pictures of Otago Peninsula...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1FaA0_YkpZ0GAp7kJ80NXrUruibwyRvNHdT2gUigOQqVkOefT6xq36nNHVMmPBJgktRhk62bpHz4jcTctOST9nCweiZxcN44OUIYllHcb-c5THQooeKxH9Il3K3k8ljCAVVthn4mXAWtQ/s1600/IMG_0109.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1FaA0_YkpZ0GAp7kJ80NXrUruibwyRvNHdT2gUigOQqVkOefT6xq36nNHVMmPBJgktRhk62bpHz4jcTctOST9nCweiZxcN44OUIYllHcb-c5THQooeKxH9Il3K3k8ljCAVVthn4mXAWtQ/s320/IMG_0109.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578924542995736802" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUHYoqLnuP5Y_YYD6XTgWxNrhKZaoX35Cfi8Nmk6OFlaV60zKNjz8vGTCvS8qdEaOruC3k6w5TJ7z-JwKs0ybyHZorNjmmY1Wm31nBAIvDUKMgfZs3aj1oJ4gvigYuOhEz3D0vRxMenoEm/s1600/IMG_0104.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUHYoqLnuP5Y_YYD6XTgWxNrhKZaoX35Cfi8Nmk6OFlaV60zKNjz8vGTCvS8qdEaOruC3k6w5TJ7z-JwKs0ybyHZorNjmmY1Wm31nBAIvDUKMgfZs3aj1oJ4gvigYuOhEz3D0vRxMenoEm/s320/IMG_0104.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578924535564505890" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJdKKOlPQN6BCXkOksr2wx0Pp_BOyApd48Myf_4oWo90709N55bPSPGGvs1pFyd2xJlSoMubleIOIZPnB1jr5eeyJXIL9VdGDnXNDpq_114cphTfYGefQBFmMofCe4z0NbBYjVyFQ7KyUk/s1600/IMG_0094.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJdKKOlPQN6BCXkOksr2wx0Pp_BOyApd48Myf_4oWo90709N55bPSPGGvs1pFyd2xJlSoMubleIOIZPnB1jr5eeyJXIL9VdGDnXNDpq_114cphTfYGefQBFmMofCe4z0NbBYjVyFQ7KyUk/s320/IMG_0094.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578924522727089282" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY5tP8Qi0YYqO4HFsBhVtrC8uwm1HgbBQXW2ryP4dCErcyfpXEDhyu1CbAASW9CryidbzABOwGqeH0sSMmrsrpUyKQmEecVmeZAm-QsFklhfpSKbj7b6uNNYnXx16raOmHtfx8_GYG98cM/s1600/IMG_0089.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 113px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY5tP8Qi0YYqO4HFsBhVtrC8uwm1HgbBQXW2ryP4dCErcyfpXEDhyu1CbAASW9CryidbzABOwGqeH0sSMmrsrpUyKQmEecVmeZAm-QsFklhfpSKbj7b6uNNYnXx16raOmHtfx8_GYG98cM/s320/IMG_0089.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578925053833022130" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzUHiuCRDax7D2whyphenhyphen1Xt1NnU6HSif7gqfwbXva2u0HU7uWyRmE7YraEECkz6RZmTxI6eZMDt54SgQ425kaMyVo4clMDCZ7lhaEjdn42wP2eunSSOSgcxRHQ2VN_9sqCg2ZWJDG3jKgadSf/s1600/IMG_0088.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzUHiuCRDax7D2whyphenhyphen1Xt1NnU6HSif7gqfwbXva2u0HU7uWyRmE7YraEECkz6RZmTxI6eZMDt54SgQ425kaMyVo4clMDCZ7lhaEjdn42wP2eunSSOSgcxRHQ2VN_9sqCg2ZWJDG3jKgadSf/s320/IMG_0088.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578925052871170834" /></a>Katie DeRochehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003624456162515224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7559654637313112615.post-57831614592116135482011-02-24T23:00:00.000-08:002011-02-24T23:17:19.518-08:00Moving in...AgainWe're now moved into our new apartment on Forbury Road, Dunedin. We're very close to grocery stores, a bus stop that has a bus run by every 15 minutes, 5 minutes from the beach and a wide open park, cafes on the pier. We're in a nice quiet spot, just far enough away from downtown, our landlord Bruce is very nice and the apartment was fully furnished. <br /><br />Here are some pictures...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKfhqd1LnuOMW7ytH3DDxbLWvq6HjCL0lTJBER5eX3tS43KN7t64w4V3bZYA_d8T9LsfkPWOqZyqRP34BbFgnnlWaAyMBVXfvg6h1s4ezBd-AsDruqlSaBVAO79d-V1PZL0b__MMxSWSHC/s1600/IMG_0034.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKfhqd1LnuOMW7ytH3DDxbLWvq6HjCL0lTJBER5eX3tS43KN7t64w4V3bZYA_d8T9LsfkPWOqZyqRP34BbFgnnlWaAyMBVXfvg6h1s4ezBd-AsDruqlSaBVAO79d-V1PZL0b__MMxSWSHC/s320/IMG_0034.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577522394946338722" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6GyDCBimY9AKIz3EnuMupcaT7jQ5et0esAkHv_TO82bxUnonLjdqLxtAu_qSZMi6Uj9_OZjlk_iJcCTy6yaRJMxndScXerrZ2sIVHRCcSvuB53H-FBodHaQMgYyDTd9cG6E_u4eZHvVRf/s1600/IMG_0032.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6GyDCBimY9AKIz3EnuMupcaT7jQ5et0esAkHv_TO82bxUnonLjdqLxtAu_qSZMi6Uj9_OZjlk_iJcCTy6yaRJMxndScXerrZ2sIVHRCcSvuB53H-FBodHaQMgYyDTd9cG6E_u4eZHvVRf/s320/IMG_0032.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577522389243872770" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho5A8Y5y2Q1mNc8iZbsGtWueA8dcKqHVGbVCfqdNyqXlvZEPXGZqJckIbks6agIdmlYGfHtnFHbL4xeDd1HWPPIvmLZOtMTmdOATv-73dygSnShL0txwXH7OtK8xOGqNn839skd0HGfU9T/s1600/IMG_0062.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho5A8Y5y2Q1mNc8iZbsGtWueA8dcKqHVGbVCfqdNyqXlvZEPXGZqJckIbks6agIdmlYGfHtnFHbL4xeDd1HWPPIvmLZOtMTmdOATv-73dygSnShL0txwXH7OtK8xOGqNn839skd0HGfU9T/s320/IMG_0062.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577522381608852050" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx1WO5BSK8fOHworaVqzURJIZSLJmfhaRNS9x1iQ6HmjRX1Pts4Ggza8gpkDkTjfk1BcsHT-tMKRcRVsxijryewtJmWWMxLdTsnOnv0m_VAe2ebI0sBoRH0iEJsNu-jMbS7yHtwlJ63dpe/s1600/IMG_0061.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx1WO5BSK8fOHworaVqzURJIZSLJmfhaRNS9x1iQ6HmjRX1Pts4Ggza8gpkDkTjfk1BcsHT-tMKRcRVsxijryewtJmWWMxLdTsnOnv0m_VAe2ebI0sBoRH0iEJsNu-jMbS7yHtwlJ63dpe/s320/IMG_0061.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577522377582715714" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifhGngk5a7qpyOD6FPad7Eiy8_FAUOb3eemyN0Y-RZCMxur-pIyAA5Bqp0HaBTBeE10MmC5b1SZZYp-Xs-HbRnBap2Wehw2jYqsMG4bbtJd909Gq5u24Mn15KiB7hzukolot9aUG5D-ZzV/s1600/IMG_0060.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifhGngk5a7qpyOD6FPad7Eiy8_FAUOb3eemyN0Y-RZCMxur-pIyAA5Bqp0HaBTBeE10MmC5b1SZZYp-Xs-HbRnBap2Wehw2jYqsMG4bbtJd909Gq5u24Mn15KiB7hzukolot9aUG5D-ZzV/s320/IMG_0060.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577520231795693042" /></a>Katie DeRochehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003624456162515224noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7559654637313112615.post-70279292680720898952011-02-24T12:22:00.000-08:002011-02-24T12:23:16.573-08:00On the Radiohttp://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/pastpodcasts.html?64#ref64<br /><br />Island Morning, Feb 24thKatie DeRochehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003624456162515224noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7559654637313112615.post-49682882450238608992011-02-22T17:16:00.000-08:002011-02-23T15:00:08.767-08:00Earthquake (Updated Feb. 24th)So if you havn't heard yet, there was a massive earthquake in Christchurch yesterday at 12:51 pm. As far as I know it was a 6.3, between 10 and 1 km deep (I've heard different stories) and it hit Littleton, about 10 km south/west away from where we've been living. <br /><br />John and I are both safe and healthy and now far from Christchurch. <br /><br />So I'll tell my side of the story and I'll let John tell his. <br />I had just gotten home from a job interview downtown, parked the car on the street and was walking across the backyard. Neil and Linley (our landlords) and another man (who had just come down from working on the roof) were sitting at the picnic table under a tree. <br />It's really hard to explain how it felt but the quake started. I realized when looking at everyone's faces that this was a really scary earthquake. I stumbled over to them crouched under the tree and held on as best I could. It was really hard to focus my eyes on anything but the sound of the house shaking and the cement walkway cracking was pretty scary. I saw a crack form the yard in front of me and when the world stopped throwing us about water and silt started flowing from the crack in the ground. <br />The brick house beside ours had totally crumbled. We ran to the street where we saw massive cracks and warps in the road. People driving trying to avoid all the new obstacles. I got a call from john then, only seconds after the shaking ended. He was fine, I was fine, he was going to try and get to me. <br />I ran into the apartment to find it pretty demolished though others had gotten it worse in our building for sure. I grabbed my violin and Johns iMac and put them in the trunk. <br />I got in the car with Neil and Linley who thought it would be best if we all went to their place which was farther from tall brick buildings. In retrospect I should have left a note for John at the apartment telling him where I was going but luckily he got through to me from his work phone when I was in the car on the way to their place. John walked from his work and we met up and Neil and Linley's. <br />We stayed there for a while in the street through some big aftershocks then decided to walk back to the apartment and get the car. <br />The roads were crazy, water, silt and sewage everywhere. We saw cars stuck in mounds of silt, traffic lights were out, bridges were closed. <br />Back at the apartment John (he wouldn't let me in the building)emptied our apartment of our things. We were lucky in not having accumulated many things compared to some of our neighbors who had been living there for many years. <br />Erin, a neighbor and fellow Canadian came home and also started to scavenge her apartment. Her husband, Steven, was in Dunedin and wasn't supposed to be back until the evening so we waited with her and her cats until Steven arrived around 10:00pm. We then left the city. Drove South for a few hours. We were invited to stay with Neil and Linley but we didn't want to be indoors in Christchurch while the aftershocks continued. So we drove for a few hours trying to find a hotel or something but all we found was "no vacancy" over and over. So we parked in front of a cafe and slept in the car. <br />Got up this morning and drove here, to Dunedin. We're staying in a hostel, we have warm beds, we've taken showers, John has finally been able to wash the silt off his feet from walking sock foot to Neils, we have food in our bellies, and we're far from the aftershocks. <br />Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. Keep praying for the people of Christchurch. <br /><br />-Katie<br /><br />UPDATED<br /><br />So you've heard from Katie,<br />My version is from a couple miles away on the edge of the City Center. It was my second day at work and had started helping customers and was getting to know my fellow co-workers. A nice guy I work with was talking to me about finding work in New Zealand and when I mentioned how Katie was looking for work he rang his friend whose a manager in the city center and within minutes Katie had an interview downtown. I let her know and she got it a bit late but headed into town to meet with the manager. At 12:05 I took my lunch and Katie came to the store to meet me. We sat in the car and I had my sandwich until about 12:40 or so.. Katie and I were together just 10 minutes before it hit.<br /><br />She left for home and I went back to talking with customers. Standing by the door I was talking with a nice man about iPads when the earthquake hit. He went crazy and ran through the door pulling the glassdoors apart within seconds. I'll never forget the sound of the walls and floors crashing around and shaking glass. I stumbled out the door after my customer and ended up holding onto a metal post in the parking lot as the quake slowed. <br /><br />I tried to figure out how big this really was as I've never been in an earthquake, though I knew we'd experience one coming to Christchurch. (Not this devastating though). I looked around at a smashed store, at the street torn apart, and my co-workers huddled under the display desks inside. Car alarms were going off everywhere and people started pouring out of the store. People screaming to get out and everyone with their cell phones out.<br /><br />Knowing phones, power, water, and traffic would all be shit I got on a landline and called Katie. Every ring was one too many but she picked up and told me she was ok. I've never been so scared as waiting to hear her voice. We checked in and I told her to stay (I figured I could get a ride from someone or walk home). We all checked in with each other at work and were trying to calm down when water and sand/silt started pouring out from all over the place, the floors, the trees, the cracks everywhere. At first you think its sewage cause of the smell but then it turns a dark color.<br /><br />I called Katie again and was able to get through to find out she had left with our landlord and was headed for their home. I grabbed my stuff and a girls coat and bag who would not go back inside, and started off to find Katie. Running through water/sewage/silt water I had to back track to get across the roads and past buildings with broken windows. Running through the streets I saw people crying, people trapped in buildings trying to get out and broken glass or collapsed buildings everywhere. I got lost of course since we'd only driven there once, but ended up getting my bearings and finding Katie. The rest you know.. <br /><br />We're now in Dunedin staying with a woman named Charlotte who posted online for people to stay with her. I somehow feel bad leaving behind so many people and the few friends we have there, but I don't think I would feel safe with all the aftershocks going on. What to do now.. Where to live? you ask yourself these questions once and then two weeks later you're doing it again but this time its because everything you've set up is gone. Its been hard to be positive but we're trying and moving forward. thanks so much for everyone's concern and emails. We'll have more updates soon.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiakx1HMX1PD2zv-8L7FqYbGXlPeZwWeW2KtcOSE8-drvA3JZXNcrw18Fds8qzglEyU-xEcCdYBNHMAOs_1x5gU5DWp36DEIbbBpk5kpkFJKb1B79eoBeJ7yre70m1b7ias55c2Ef4ULd27/s1600/NZ+142.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiakx1HMX1PD2zv-8L7FqYbGXlPeZwWeW2KtcOSE8-drvA3JZXNcrw18Fds8qzglEyU-xEcCdYBNHMAOs_1x5gU5DWp36DEIbbBpk5kpkFJKb1B79eoBeJ7yre70m1b7ias55c2Ef4ULd27/s320/NZ+142.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576691286183397106" /></a><br />Our once beautiful apartment<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9NgVJhVKR8Xq15BcyUKNTvjm7EiFIM3Lzn9G6nLxIp9Sx0LAos3jLaNbIYTK3R9rh2h3PgJ_VLamH4M1RQ4qIXXDIrHx7gGJCUtzJxvEc-mJv2T1zPJZHHEJJOPHjGUc1_7agzHx2vwfG/s1600/NZ+141.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 179px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9NgVJhVKR8Xq15BcyUKNTvjm7EiFIM3Lzn9G6nLxIp9Sx0LAos3jLaNbIYTK3R9rh2h3PgJ_VLamH4M1RQ4qIXXDIrHx7gGJCUtzJxvEc-mJv2T1zPJZHHEJJOPHjGUc1_7agzHx2vwfG/s320/NZ+141.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576691740963390962" /></a><br />Kitchen<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz9HBQzkGcNpbjk82H5j0PARCEKD-vqzN9VXs1kz82AsILYZ0F91_TWeOAV7lpv61mdCQEt3YMeA3zKZzcttkxCnt54w6OxgtrOJvDpb65yLEQaxHIdYFVz-UKPRV6aCKW4ZHvjJavivWf/s1600/NZ+147.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz9HBQzkGcNpbjk82H5j0PARCEKD-vqzN9VXs1kz82AsILYZ0F91_TWeOAV7lpv61mdCQEt3YMeA3zKZzcttkxCnt54w6OxgtrOJvDpb65yLEQaxHIdYFVz-UKPRV6aCKW4ZHvjJavivWf/s320/NZ+147.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576692123237398098" /></a><br />The street outside the apartment<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHGGDxnYl_ZPKv5EsKNmK8aZJB8IdSR4m8M8jlXYSrPK9T_-Y526aXVekZ7Fb_sYkI7PLdkhQmdHLLTOggh_WonSRzubQoMSLa-aml3AgvLVWf771aYcsOTHpOJ6ZbN_cP6Cln5CsNcSUX/s1600/NZ+150.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHGGDxnYl_ZPKv5EsKNmK8aZJB8IdSR4m8M8jlXYSrPK9T_-Y526aXVekZ7Fb_sYkI7PLdkhQmdHLLTOggh_WonSRzubQoMSLa-aml3AgvLVWf771aYcsOTHpOJ6ZbN_cP6Cln5CsNcSUX/s320/NZ+150.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576692572070578610" /></a><br />The house next doorKatie DeRochehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003624456162515224noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7559654637313112615.post-3167839818435212572011-02-17T21:30:00.000-08:002011-02-17T21:54:55.833-08:00Arthur's Pass and our first visitor..So.. when I (John) first lived in London back in 2006 I made friends with a fellow percussionist named Ric. He's been my friend ever since. So after seeing each other in Boston on a couple occasions and a night in Dublin, he's managed to even visit me all the way over here in New Zealand. Working in Sydney for a few weeks Ric was able to take some time to come over to Christchurch. For the occasion we decided to go out and see the mountains for the first time. (Where they shot Rohan in LOTR)<br /><br />Slowly but surely the landscape turned more and more beautiful the farther we went. The pictures really tell the rest. Unfortunately Ric was only here for the day but it was filled with mountains, streams, and even a trip to the beach.<br /><br />In other good news I've been offered a job with the local Apple store, called MagnumMacs. I'm going tomorrow to sign papers with the manager. Who coincidentally worked at the same exact Apple store as I did when living in London a couple years ago. We didn't work at the same time but had tons of stories to share about mutual friends. Its amazing how Apple has connected me to people all over the world.<br /><br />So now Katie and I are relaxing and slowly making lives for ourselves here in New Zealand. It really is a magical place.<br />Pictures HERE! ----> http://gallery.me.com/johnbeder#100190Katie DeRochehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003624456162515224noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7559654637313112615.post-72411181643070968882011-02-12T18:36:00.000-08:002011-02-12T18:50:17.063-08:00Flower FestivalToday is the 22nd annual Christchurch flower festival. We went to the Christchurch Cathedral sunday service this morning and heard the choir (very beautiful) and saw the floral arrangements set up all around the church and down the aisle. <br />I had my violin to try busking but when we left the church there was a man with an electric violin and a snazzy suit playing nice music with a large crowd around him. So since he was loud enough for me not to play in cathedral square we walked down a few blocks and I played a few fiddle tunes and made a few bucks. Definitely would be better if I could get in the square where all the tourists are.<br /><br />Pics of the apartment..<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyE6PdakTRTwd4w29PYJ6owUkQI68DyoW7YjClUz8hLjNGDzI6fWdp_CoIj4ia6UM-fbIvvAvy6_Om72fRqSWXJ3ggwZ2YbtJnXdifSPpWbSzOrixVIJzul4mIPR_qsXnEKpWJ1EVHYyNI/s1600/IMG_0140.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyE6PdakTRTwd4w29PYJ6owUkQI68DyoW7YjClUz8hLjNGDzI6fWdp_CoIj4ia6UM-fbIvvAvy6_Om72fRqSWXJ3ggwZ2YbtJnXdifSPpWbSzOrixVIJzul4mIPR_qsXnEKpWJ1EVHYyNI/s320/IMG_0140.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573000702473889954" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMz8TaRIojT_1whEj591BgQmDRjpa2p7FrlCRP0EUbAgXP693vgZCP4s_4fyErEYsCHpIiJ4mEPAU3bA5nNZDznZVXAUexhokdyMUZETKmVfHAYK9yHV8qgmMGi5iIXAy3cgICmj1pdkV9/s1600/IMG_0128.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMz8TaRIojT_1whEj591BgQmDRjpa2p7FrlCRP0EUbAgXP693vgZCP4s_4fyErEYsCHpIiJ4mEPAU3bA5nNZDznZVXAUexhokdyMUZETKmVfHAYK9yHV8qgmMGi5iIXAy3cgICmj1pdkV9/s320/IMG_0128.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573000109815105698" /></a>Katie DeRochehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003624456162515224noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7559654637313112615.post-90246229567856771042011-02-11T01:04:00.000-08:002011-02-11T01:32:33.551-08:00Getting Settled<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggbE7qRjPb24rTU5o6sQc5uRCwqXoqPMwZy8G0_kJOCwHqGC-lmBlYIPHo_1Skll6fOsaCL6ytQwRWJ3mPStePkbcybDC4NWkt1pMCfMYdk2MVR-kobs2xNkoeavDpj-N2KX6yr9KGqbz6/s1600/IMG_0115.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggbE7qRjPb24rTU5o6sQc5uRCwqXoqPMwZy8G0_kJOCwHqGC-lmBlYIPHo_1Skll6fOsaCL6ytQwRWJ3mPStePkbcybDC4NWkt1pMCfMYdk2MVR-kobs2xNkoeavDpj-N2KX6yr9KGqbz6/s320/IMG_0115.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572361568430091426" /></a><br />We are proud owners of a Silver Nissan Maxima and we are moving into an awesome apartment tomorrow!<br />We bought the car at an auction which was very fun and exciting. We checked out our apartment this afternoon with the intention to see 4 more apartments tomorrow. We saw it and loved it instantly, we drove by the other apartments and none of them seemed to compare. So moving out of the hotel and into our new place on Woodham Dr. tomorrow afternoon. <br />May take a little while to set up internet. It looks like it is a bit more expensive here then it is back home.Katie DeRochehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003624456162515224noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7559654637313112615.post-80919643465596001792011-02-08T21:55:00.000-08:002011-02-08T22:03:01.852-08:00So we went to a place called Turners Car Market today where we took some cars for test drives. We'll be going tomorrow to sit in on the auction and hopefully do some bidding ourselves. Our feet are sore from the long walk, looking forward to doing it again tomorrow. Maybe we'll have a car tomorrow so we'll be able to drive around to check out some apartments. Spent some time in the beautiful Hagley park again today. Really awesome park.<br />Pictures to come hopefully will get them up this weekend. Can't yet in the hotel.Katie DeRochehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003624456162515224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7559654637313112615.post-56704206515467477262011-02-07T13:42:00.000-08:002011-02-07T13:47:07.840-08:00We're Here!So we just got to our hotel in Christchurch, finally. The flight from Vancouver to Auckland wasn't all that bad. We had lots of movies and somehow the time seemed to go by relatively quickly. Neither of us got very much sleep but going for a much needed nap now. Will update with pictures soon!Katie DeRochehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003624456162515224noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7559654637313112615.post-65610115721166866302011-02-06T16:42:00.000-08:002011-02-06T16:48:26.270-08:00Together Again<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR3SWz8G0pX4D7zXrOlQ9Wz0_Ap-zxtIDhoecqjcr2iewwWl8C2tha_q2J1DgYqqkU9h27o7AqjYTlBZioD5gOyZPwoOQgwfveEBKf5OTJOqCKCw-9U05NTuWtGw4rMZoGlrtwsWjVz8_1/s1600/IMG_0007.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR3SWz8G0pX4D7zXrOlQ9Wz0_Ap-zxtIDhoecqjcr2iewwWl8C2tha_q2J1DgYqqkU9h27o7AqjYTlBZioD5gOyZPwoOQgwfveEBKf5OTJOqCKCw-9U05NTuWtGw4rMZoGlrtwsWjVz8_1/s320/IMG_0007.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570742344166702290" /></a><br /><br />So John and I are together and waiting for our flight to Auckland. Looking forward to 14 hours in the air...Katie DeRochehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003624456162515224noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7559654637313112615.post-38102354813619073152011-01-24T06:06:00.000-08:002011-01-24T06:34:33.103-08:00New ZealandFinally the New Zealand trip is arriving. <br /><br />Our original plan of leaving New Years Eve changed after an unfortunate complication with borer control. Forced to change our plans and leave a little more then a month later, John and I were feeling a little discouraged. The time since has felt like quite the eternity since John had to go back home to Boston and I stayed home in PEI. But now 12 days to go doesn't seem to bad. I was lucky enough to get a temp job in an office in town where I am right now. You can tell that they're keeping me really busy here...<br /><br />I will be flying from Charlottetown to Vancouver on the 5th of Feb., meeting John the next day when he flies in from Boston and we'll be together for the long journey across the Pacific. About 14 hours to Aukland, New Zealand and then from there to our final destination; Christchurch.Katie DeRochehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003624456162515224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7559654637313112615.post-24247095881561107312010-08-24T19:50:00.000-07:002010-08-24T20:10:54.837-07:00Missing Ireland<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL_NNQ4NO2yhK_L9uDE9BqjQIUITlyb0XByY98AhDYhgREredWfJrJAkAIvXRiufRFV5fC-KDO6sGGULx2aGPf_M41uSQoEMQYcMzYxZcyJrTZla22p6_6NFTTibSlFAYWSl9TjK8QtvXn/s1600/Ireland+446.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL_NNQ4NO2yhK_L9uDE9BqjQIUITlyb0XByY98AhDYhgREredWfJrJAkAIvXRiufRFV5fC-KDO6sGGULx2aGPf_M41uSQoEMQYcMzYxZcyJrTZla22p6_6NFTTibSlFAYWSl9TjK8QtvXn/s320/Ireland+446.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509179315218689506" /></a><br />So after what seems like an eternity of flights and waiting, checking in and picking up luggage I'm finally home. I flew from Dublin Sunday evening, arrived and stayed in the London airport all night until my flight left at 8:30 the next morning. Then flew to Toronto and then to PEI. It's funny how my first flight was about 2 hours long and it went by fairly quickly, then the flight from London to Toronto was about 8 hours but I had movies and an interesting girl sitting next to me so the time passed fast enough. But the flight from Toronto, about one and a half hours, felt like an absolute eternity. I don't know how many times I fell asleep and woke up feeling like I slept for a long time but it turned out it had only been like 2 minutes. I just wanted to be home! <br />So during my overnight stay in London I decided to stay in the airport since I had all my luggage with me and it was pouring rain. I hung out outside for a long time under an overhang roof where I read and stuff. I took out my violin when not many people were around and played a few tunes. While I was playing a leaf fell off a tree and into my case. The leaf is now my London souvenir. <br />First thing I noticed when I came home was when we got in the car and we were driving on the wrong side! haha It's funny how quickly you adjust to these things. <br />So now I'm getting back into the regular swing of things. I played Anne and Gilbert tonight and in many ways it was nice to be back, though in others...well, you know. Back to the Mackenzie theater tomorrow.Katie DeRochehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003624456162515224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7559654637313112615.post-24910419550854498072010-08-22T08:59:00.001-07:002010-08-22T09:09:37.041-07:00Homeward BoundLast day in Ireland! I can't believe it's over. I'm sitting in an internet cafe in Dublin after a couple hours of liesurely walking around. My camera batteries are dead so no pictures but it's very cool. I've been on Connor Street for a while and it is a very busy place. <br />The whole time I've been here I've noticed that the parts of Ireland that I have seen are very similar to PEI. Except for the ancient stone walls and crumbling stone buildings everywhere. It will be nice to get home and actually rest a bit though I will miss this very much. I'll miss my roomies and my friends that I've made here. Happily I will see some of them soon in Ottawa but some I'll just have to miss :(Katie DeRochehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003624456162515224noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7559654637313112615.post-53036084253511487632010-08-19T10:22:00.001-07:002010-08-19T10:35:04.367-07:00Sick DayWe traveled to Ennis yesterday to perform our Mini Mozart Opera and Benjamin Brittan's "Noah's Flood". It was a beautiful church but it didn't have a bathroom so we had to walk to the nearest hotel to use their facilities. <br />Noah's Flood is the student opera that they have been working on since the beginning of camp 2 weeks ago. They have a nice set, very cute costumes and spot lights. I'll post pictures later but the little girl that plays the dove is so adorable. She looks like a little angel. I was sitting watching the opera from the audience and I happened to be right behind her parents and they were so proud. At the end of the show she gets carried off the stage on Noah's shoulder and she flaps her arms like a bird. It's just too cute. <br />I've got a bit of the flu today. I just took a nap for an hour and I feel a bit better but hopefully a good nights sleep tonight will get rid of it.Katie DeRochehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003624456162515224noreply@blogger.com0