...pies...will always rule...

...back we were for Christmas this year in sunny (actually bloody cold) old New Zealand.
We had Ma and Pa over here in the Nov/Dec for some good times in Tokyo town, photos of which I will post when I get around to organising our My Pictures folder a little better. It was the first time we had really spent any extended time up in the enormous smoke, and grand it was.

But back to Chrissy...

So.
Leaving Kansai airport saw us at 10 degrees and raining. Sorta crap.

Eleven hours later, we landed in gloooorious Christchurch.....10 degrees and raining...WTF?!

I was all ready to pack it in and run away (Take this plane to Cuba!) but after promises of pie, I succumbed and was led duly away.

Lesson Learnt #1
Pies make the grey skies go away.
Yummo!

So we enjoyed the occasional sunshine of Christchurch-towne and had a ridiculously meat filled Christmas Day full of funtimes. Jet lag hit me pretty early on Christmas Day morning, so I went out to stroll the promenades and came across this fellow.
Now.
I really don't like horses.
Too big.
Too bloody starey-out-the-side-of-their-heads.
Too bloody happy-to-go-for-the-carrot/sugar lump-but-might-make-a-grab-for-the-finger
But this guy was alright.
We had an understanding.
Mano-e-Horso.
We were tight.
(Yes that is plain, unadulterated horse terror in my eyes)
So I wished him a Happy Christmas and was on my way.

The 27th of December saw us a shade more portly than we were when we had arrived, and strutting off to the sunny Hawkes Bay for the afternoon. 'Twas super. I saw my Grandma and some of those relatives that only get talked about in hushed whispers, and then we made our way up to Auckland.....

9 degrees and raining....

Boo.
Still, next up was Whangapoua.
Sweet sweet Whangapoua.
I'll write a shade more about that carry on later.
Until then, I bid you all Good Day.
B.