Weekend Escape

To escape the terrible wind and rain that they had in Rotorua, we headed to Auckland for the weekend, staying on Trinity Wharf in a studio apartment.


Saturday was so warm and sunny as we walked around the waters edge and watched the world go by. John was very excited as we found an Irish pub that sold Boddingtons.

In the evening we went to Wild Fire restaurant, also on the Wharf, where you pay a set price and they just keep bringing food to your table until you've had enough. Loads of side dishes and every different meat you can think off on giant skewers that they slice up for you at the table. Great fun and needless to say both of us were completely stuffed by the end of the evening, luckily not far to walk back to the apartment!









On Sunday, before travelling home we had a couples massage at the East Day Spa in Skycity, which was fabulous, an hour of total pampering in a wonderful setting.


The weekend was a wonderful tonic for us both, just what we needed.

Finished Bathroom

After over a year of our upstairs bathroom being stripped down to it's shell, John has done an amazing job, rebuilding it all and this weekend finished it off.




There have been a lot of long weekends work and no end of problems along the way but last night I had my first bath upstairs and it was bliss.

More Ground Clearing

It's been another busy weekend in the Backhouse residence. With the sun shining we got out on Sunday and cleared a bit more of the ground at the front of the house overlooking the lake. With me strimming and John with his machete, it's starting to look much clearer, starting to discover a whole new area to the garden.

Crayfish Dinner

John's boss went diving at a local beach this weekend and caught us a beautiful fresh crayfish. I'm going to make a Malay Crayfish curry for dinner tonight, Yum!

Garden Produce

We are rapidly heading into winter, and I managed to get out in the garden yesterday, with a break in the rain, to collect some of the last produce from the veggie garden.









I was also feeling a little creative and thought I would make a decoration of the chillies as they dry.

Winter is on the way!

The days are getting shorter, the clocks have gone back. It's a sure sign that winter is on the way when I start to stack wood outside the door ready for our first fire. I wonder how long we can hold off before giving in to the log fires in the evenings?

The Squeeze!

Today we've been on 'The Squeeze' experience. A fabulous day starting off with a leisurely jet boat ride down the Waikato River, taking in the beautiful scenery.

We then stripped down to our togs and got out the boat and started to wade down the river towards 'the squeeze'.


This is a narrow gap in the rocks that you literally have to squeeze through whilst in the water, sometimes up to chin height slowly working your way through the gorge, all the time the water is getting warmer and warmer as you head towards the thermal hot pools.


Eventually you come out under 2 waterfalls of lovely hot water where we relaxed and soaked.







Then for the journey back through 'the squeeze' to the boat, followed by a hair-raising, thrill seeking, 360 degree spinning boat ride back up the Waikato river to the start.

We met a lovely couple from Wales (Alice and Dan) who are currently working in Auckland but visiting the area for the weekend and they came back to the house and staying with us for a couple of days to see the sights of Rotorua. What a great weekend, even if it is a bit rainy!