WHERE'S BEST TO LIVE IN NZ ETC PART 7 !!

[frikonastick]

Come oooonnnnnn MNHQ, where's our medal

Hi everyone Sibble that sounds exhausting, you poor soul! Hope things settle soon.
Good to catch up with everyone.
All well here, still nothing new on the job front in either NZ or Oz (the Middlemore job seems to have disappeared into thin air - communication from their side very, very poor, we eventually lost interest after a few weeks; I assume they either found someone else or decided not to fill the post, who knows!) but we'll bide our time.
Spring is gorgeous here, though a few lovely sunny days have given way to rain, surprise surprise. Just had a fab weekend (child and husband-free! ) in Ireland - West Cork. Stunning part of the world. justa - that was seeing peanutbrittle, in fact, from our long-ago meditation thread, just realised you would remember her! I am living proof that it's possible to make lifelong close buddies from a MN thread - she is one of my dearest RL pals!
Love to you all, back soon

ok am lying on the sofa feeling very sick. Need to get hold of ds1 to let him know that he needs to go to the school office to get a pass to get out of school early as I need to muster up the energy to get him to fracture clinic this afternoon. Thought - aha I know I will use ds2s ipod to message him as he never has his phone on but takes his ipod to school. There were messages from ds1 and ds2 to each other. Maybe I shouldn't have looked but thought - ooh wonder what they talk about. Can somebody please tell me how ds1 can get 50% in his last Chinese exam at school but know how to spell 'fat arse' in Samoan with apostrophe in the correct place.

Might be private school but it's still South Auckland. DS2s response 'and you are an ompa lompa'. Did make me laugh!

I'm here too, just getting through the first weeks of DHs new job while being a one car family has been a bit interesting! Sibble, sorry to hear you are unwell, sending get well soon vibes your way, and i say, read their phones with impunity! Justa, PILs! How's that working out? Mine have told us they are coming for Xmas.......... So now my parents are all miffed because I said we weren't having anyone for the first year.....families ey. Meerkate, I saw your photos on fb, looked like a lovely holiday indeed.

Oh oh and also, has anyone been skiing here? On the north island I mean

I'm here, kind of. DD2 had a few allergic reactions & reverted back to pre- diagnosis sleep patterns (did I say this already, I'm so sleep deprived I can't remember) and we're only just coming out the other side now. And she now has a cold! I'm spending most nights sharing a bed with her because from midnight she seems to be unable to sleep in her cot.

Sibble - poor you. Hope you're on the mend soon.

Frik - we went to Tongariro last year, but not to ski - just at the edge of the season to see some snow & potter about. Seems like a good set up. We ended up leaving early as it started to snow heavily on the mountain, but meant it was freezing rain lower down and DD2 was, um, uncooperative

I'm not a great skier too accident prone but I'd really like to get back down there. Maybe next winter and we'll bring a nanny and a ski instructor for the kids because obviously we'll have won the lottery by then

frik I haven't been skiing but pre-kids I used to go snowboarding every year. Few years ago now though.

We are really keen to go, we've been waiting until we were somewhere that actually had snow and for DD to be old enough and I think this winter is it! But I don't know where to stay and stuff. I think I will post some links to the things I thinking of, and you all can weigh in

I've stayed at both Tongariro and Ohakune. Ohakune is a bit more party-towny but not excessively so. It also has more facilities like cafes, restaurants etc.

We are looking at going as well. Been here 11 years and never been to the snow - north or south (in fact never been to the south island at all ) every time I look the airfares for 4 are horrendous for a long weekend! This year though.

We got flights to Queenstown $99 pp each way...still worked out at $600 for 3 of us of course, was a great holiday though. That was in summer not winter.

Want to take the dcs to the ski fields sometime, mine have never seen snow (apart from on the tops of mountains in Queenstown). Maybe next year...

I liked Ohakune if that's how it's spelt.

Thanks guys, that's helpful, did you all stay in lodges, hotels, motels? I'm not sure which would be best. It's just the three of us and chalets seem to cater for bigger groups more, but staying in a hotel the food is always so expensive. Thoughts? I am actually really excited about this! Can't believe we live in NZ, and can go skiing

We stayed at a backpackers place (pre-kids), I think it may have had family accommodation too. What I remember most about it was it had PROPER central heating, you know, radiators with pipes and everything

My Kiwi friends were all "Oooooh, look at these things, what a great idea, aren't they amazing". Errrrrr YES!

I will try to look up which place it was and post later, we're just off to Mission Bay for playground and beach.

Lol! Have fun :-)

It was this place we stayed at, www.rimupark.co.nz/. I remember the railway carriages converted to accommodation. We stayed in dorm rooms so I've no idea what the chalets etc are like.

There seems to be quite a variety of accommodation in Ohakune, you could always check out Trip Advisor for reviews. And maybe try bookabach or holidayhomes.co.nz too.

Mission Bay was fab, after so many years here I still get impressed by lovely sunny warm winter days when you can go to the beach :)

Did you see me waving was?!

I'm here. Sorry I've been rubbish.
It's since I got this iPad mini for crimbo (because I dropped the laptop and made it go breaky)
It's harder to check the thread..but not much I'm just lazy!

I think also I'm just a bit caught up in things at the moment.

Stressed every month hoping hoping, then being disappointed.

Have had some basic tests ad examinations, and there is nothing obviously wrong with me.
So...?

We have decided to keep trying until Xmas and then give up...it makes me too sad.

Plus Hope's anniversary is coming up, immissing my family and friends, we're worried about money and finding a house,
so I'm just feeling a bit overwhelmed by everything I think!

Christ, what a frigging moaner I am, eh?!

On the plus, really enjoying waiheke, kids are all very happy, I have made 2 really great friends who I've clicked with straight away (they are daft like me ) dh is enjoying work, and so life for everyone is pretty good.

Hope everyone is alright and bugs, PILS and sleep depravation are soon gone! (Unless you like your pils justa!)

Wss! Not was

My pils have threaded a trip and have had a knot in my stomach ever since...can I MN couch surf if they come please?!

AB!! You aren't a whiner (hahahahahahaha by the way, my iPad auto corrected that to wino!!!!!) and look at you, with your friends and your island life and everything, you are doing brilliantly. Hopefully the other things will fall into place too, holding thumbs for you.

Justa, lol, I hear you......

Glad to hear all are okay and I haven't killed the thread.

AB- you are the exact opposite of a whiner. You have been an absolute hero to cope with so much and so much change since you left the UK.

It feels like all around me are ill and I am fighting something off. DD has been up the last few nights so I am off to bed. It appears 10pm is the new midnight for a working penguin.

Thanks gals :)
Hahaha, to wino frick, have you been looking in my recycling bin??!
We too, are playing sickness dominos, ain't it a larf?! (No)

Justa, lovely that your mum is coming again!

My mum is coming in sept and told dd via Skype that she could "come and have a look around some houses and help pick one for granny to buy!" So! I think she might be 3 months here 3there.
She said 6 months is too long, she's started crying all the time on Skype :( not wailing or anything, but visibly upset.

Penguin, I hope you got some sleep and are all fresh for work!
How's it going?

Another player in the sickness dominoes here..

DD2 has an ear infection, I have temperature/aches/sore throat, and DD1 sounds like she's about to cough up a lung at any minute. Amazingly the hypochondriac DH appears to have missed this round.

Oh, and a random question: has anyone seen Jelly Tots here, or "real" (the soft type) jelly babies? Bribery material for DD2 required

Wow, AB that would be amazing, to have your mum have her own house here and be here for months at a time. And if she buys a house on Waiheke she could rent it out as a holiday house too if she wanted.

vvv the ice cream shop near us sells Jelly Tots, $2 a pack. And I'm sure Bramptins in Browns Bay get them in, are you near their shop?