WHERE'S BEST TO LIVE IN NZ ETC :PART 6!!!

[AngryBeaver]

Wow! Part 6...got to be a record.

MN Towers, where's our prize?!

Littlest, took your advice and went kayaking this morning, and me and DH caught two fish!! It was pretty epic.

Excellent! I'm very jealous. What sort of fish? Are you having them for dinner?

I've hit a bit of a wall with the solo parent thing. 2 days to go and I just cannot be arsed any more. DD had a poo accident in bed so I woke to her crying and now my washing machine is leaking....

Kahawai. And NO! Even though they were huge, because DH and I didn't know what type of fish they were or what size we were allowed to keep.

We were in fact, completely unprepared to actually really catch a fish. I'm not sure what we thought was going to happen, but actually catching something wasn't on the list!!

It was really funny actually, DH and laughing like loons and yelling at each other what are we going to doooooo!! Omg it's under the boooooat!! Shit shit shit shit why is the rod bending like that!!!

Yuck on the poo accident :-( hope washing machine is an easy fix, maybe just the filter needs emptying?

LOl frik. I hope no one saw you or you've blown any reputation you may have had with the locals. I think you can get size charts from DOC.

I saw some people in Australia who had obviously bought a cheap fishing kit without a clue of what to actually do. They'd caught an eel! They didn't have any of those scissor things for taking hooks out, or a knife to kill it. So the poor bloody thing was twisting round the line and they just had no was of letting it go or anything. I hope they didn't lose a finger.

Justabout- It will be fine. Two weeks is doable. Particularly if you are not pissed off with your DH for going. It helps if you have some family back up which I don't. DH has just been away so much this year that I am going to be putting my foot down when he gets back. Wish me luck.

Justa- I should also mention that I've gotten DD into a fab routine and she has been in bed asleep by 7.30 every night. She's generally loved having me to herself. It's actually been easier than with DH 'helping'.

Justa, DH and especially I, actually grew up fishing. But we realized this morning we haven actually put a line in the water since our honeymoon 9 years ago. And of course we have never fished of anything smaller than a 15ft speedboat before. So I don't think we had really thought the logistics of it all through.

But luckily DH did remember a pair of pliers so we could at least get the fish off the hook. But his one was so big, we took ages just to get it over the side of the kayak!

But aboslute LOL littlest, NO we didn't in ANY way protect our reps! The total and absolute opposite in fact, the second we got ashore we immediately accosted the nearest fisher guy standing on the jetty and were like look at our photos! We totally caught a FISH!!! Lol

Hee hee. I grew up fishing too frik - I miss my river. But I haven't cast a line since I was 15 and decided it was a bit cruel. I've totally grown out of that now and sometime wonder about giving it a go. But DH, who has never held a rod, gets invites to go fishing and I don't. I wonder why!

Yes! DH was all scandalized by my suggestion that we just shove the fish up under the elastic rigging at the front of the kayak, he was like, but it will suffocate! You can't do that! It's cruel! And then proceeded to use a pair of pliers to get the mahoosive hook out its mouth.......

I have to say though, it was kind of cool to put them back, and also I hate filleting fish. Worse job ever. So all in all it was win win!

There is nothing better than fish you have caught yourself - one of the things I love about being here and hadn't done until we moved here. My boys love it too!

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/mumsnet_classics/1729276-Yoni-Vaginal-Massage?pg=6

Hahahahahahahahahhahahahahaha!!!! Am DYING you guys have to read this

lollystix have you seen the article in today's Herald about St Heliers house prices?

www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10877283

This country is obviously getting to me: I have allowed DH to talk me into getting a tent. A TENT!!! I mean, I was a guide, and then a scout, but I thought my camping days were over... Not so it seems.

Has anyone a good antidote (or enough horror stories about camping with a 2 year old to turn even DH off the idea???)

Has he poisoned it? Cos he may need to wait for chemicals to disperse. Otherwise it's bollocks as far as I know. Although I am a beginner.

You can grow a lot in six months though.

Unless he's used weed killer or something like that...it should be fine to use straight away. I've never waited to use ground to grow stuff in. We don't really grow much in winter though, maybe just herbs and lettuce. We grow more stuff in summer/autumn.

Are you just humouring me justa?

Oh, and I never saw my uber-vegetable-gardening folks rest ground for 6 months or at all, unless they had it in mind for something that couldn't be planted til later.

We're still getting tomatoes beans & cucumbers from our plants. It's brilliant

I hate camping. There, I've said it.

My DH has also purchased a tent. Luckily it's been on the ship this whole time and I'm hoping I can plead inclement weather by the time it's arrived and been unpacked, thereby putting the whole horror on hold for another year

I do quite like setting the tent up in the garden though. That's good fun for a four year old and ALOT less stress and hassle for me!

I am slightly off camping after doing it all through my childhood. Friends went to Tenerife - we went campaing in Yorkshire - in the rain. We went to Taupo recently and it was OK but we were so underprepared I can't tell you.

Yes St Heliers House prices are just depressing - we saw 6 houses today! We loved one and DH is pissed off that I showed him it. CV $1m - I went knowing we can't afford it and I expect it will sell for $1.7m and it was my dream house. Then we saw leaky stuff which was in budget. Off to see a potential private sale Monday through a friend.

My mum is here....for good apparently. We've had a lovely day today with the boys and the weather has been fab.

I have had a crap week at work (hence a bit quiet - it has sucked the life out of me). Interviewed for a job on Monday and I do have one - the one I want - but colleagues will not be so lucky and it's just crap. So draining.

Frik - you OK?

I have had wine too. Yes here for 2 days now and moving to Titirangi for 3 months on Sunday. So far so good and the boys very happy to see her. Been so helpful as she watched kids while we looked round the 6 houses. I also won thing at work for a hotel night which I'll have to take in Auckland as near to home and she can look after the kids. If she weren't here I would have had to forgo my prize. I'm already seeing upsides if she stays in Auckland.

I am depressed after house hunting.

I am pretty shit lolly, but am doing that whole 'fake it till you make it' type thing.

Frankly I can't really afford to go off the deep end. But then, who can? We all have too many responsibilities don't we.

Story about work being awful. Sometimes it's much lonelier being the 'survivor' of cuts at work.

In other news, DD is being a complete little shit and even DH, he of saintly patience, sent her to her room today. Twice. But we did have an awesome 2 hour walk on the beach with the tide out. That was lovely :-)