First fillet

First experience of filleting a fish. Hmmm.

(sharper knife required)

Sunrise and sunset in spring

Early morning on Waitangi creek



Pete and Layton at the yacht club one Sunday evening after a day's sailing.

Our swallows

Here they are, sitting on Bob in Waitangi.

Vicious Valdora and her motley crew

From left to right, it's Tiptoe Tammy, Slippery Sam and Matchstick Marg. With Pete on the right. Everyone here is hammered on rum and coke...except the photographer, who's drinking a mug of red wine.

Scavenging for citrus fruit

Baby shag and birds in general

Rowing ashore one morning, this baby cormorant was perched on the wharf at Waitangi. It didn't fly off until we were about one metre away in our little dinghy (Bob). The next day it was sat there again with its wings hung out to dry, the way they do. It looked a bit pathetic, like it had lost his mum and was imitating being grown up.



We also have swallows nesting in one of the air flues on the houseboat roof. Although I haven't seen them since we moved from Waitangi creek to Pahia beach - I feel terrible that we might have wrenched a nesting pair from their hideaway!

Bird life is pretty awesome here. Tuis are noisy and boisterous. Their song is beautiful, in an all-over-the-place kind of way. And I can't find any good photos of them. Tui is also a beer, with a reputation for hot chicks in the factory I gather...



Pukeko are dumb birds with long legs, a loping gait and no wings to speak of. They're always wandering along the roads and tend to leap at your windscreen rather than to safety. What is it with New Zealand and flightless birds?!



Other than these guys, there are gorgeous little wagtail things that dart about and of course the kiwi itself (hidden in the undergrowth, never to be seen, virtually extinct - well, at least endangered - what did I say about New Zealand birds that don't fly? Hmmmm). This poor bugger looks well past it:

As the saying goes

Recently, as I go to sleep, I've been writing an update to my blog in my head. Needless to say, by morning the genius has evaporated and I'm left with a blank sheet and no time to do anything about it.

An update, at least then: I'm here in Paihia still. I have no electricity and scant little running water. But there is a hot shower!! Sadly it's dependent on rainfall. At last I have some jobs. I'm a marketing consultant, a waitress and potentially a boat-charter salesperson. I have money in a kiwi bank account that is just about in the three figure zone (it fluctuates, usually in a downward trend). I am learning to sail and occasionally take the wheel of our (our?!) houseboat, which I detest - taking the wheel that is, not the houseboat itself.

Summer's on its way. Sunrise and sunset are sublime from the water. Arm muscles impressive from the rowing.

Another day in paradise...