Merry Christmas to All

I want to wish a very Happy Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year to all my blog followers across the country and the world: Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Wyoming, Colorado, Nevada, California, England, Sweden, Italy, and Israel.

Sharing the adventure with you has been half the fun.

Please accept our holiday greetings and well wishes with this flower from the "New Zealand Christmas Tree," the Pohutukawa.

Henry the Town Hedgehog

As we sat enjoying a dinner of curried lentils the other night, I noticed something dark walking past the kitchen window. Thinking it was the neighbor's cat, I glanced up to see a very self-possessed hedgehog picking his way across our garden path. As I stepped outside with my camera, he stopped and regarded me with an expression of something between surprise and pity, before getting on with his business of inspecting our yard for snacks.

Henry begins his evening forage

Henry shakes his head at me and moves on

As we learned in a previous blog post, hedgehogs are not native to New Zealand, but there is more to the story. Russell, our next-door neighbor, tells us that when people first tried to introduce hedgehogs here, the animals just didn't take, so they stepped up their implementation plan. In Noah's ark fashion, they packed a bunch of hedgehogs on a train and dropped them off in pairs around the country. Apparently this method was a real success! I had trouble confirming this tale on the internet, but I did run across a story about a New Zealand man who attacked a teenage boy by throwing a hedgehog at him. I'm not sure who suffered more from this incident--the boy, the hedgehog, or the policeman who had to write the report--but either way, it was really uncool. The man was fined 500NZ$ for his poor judgement.

Sandfly Beach

We recently paid a visit to Sandfly Beach, a short drive from our new neighborhood. (No sandflies here, just flying sand. Stiff wind is an ever-present force in Dunedin.)

Two large rock formations just offshore dominate the view as you walk along the beach.

This is a more secluded beach than those nearer the city, so wildlife tends to feel more comfortable here.

In fact, they are so comfortable with their ownership of the beach, this belligerent fellow rapidly approached us from a distance of about 30 yards, and then moved to attack me just as I snapped his photo. (Note the flying sand by the front right flipper and the wild-eyed look.)

Most sea lions are content to lounge about--perhaps opening one eye to see who's walking past--however, I believe this one is the dominant male of the beach and felt the need to establish his identity for us.

In addition to sea lions, penguins come ashore in the late afternoon and evening to attend their nests in the dunes. We walked to the far edge of the beach where a penguin hide is built into the dune to allow human visitors a chance to observe the penguins unnoticed.

Sometimes Jeremy's love for wildlife rivals mine. I believe we spent over an hour and a half in the penguin hide. I remained patient for a while, but began to apply slow pressure as the penguins continued to delay their arrival, the air temperature grew colder, and dinner time came and went. At last, Jeremy, scanning the coastline up and down, caught site of one (appearing about the size of an upright beetle from our distance) making a beeline for the dune. (Yes, that's correct: nowhere near the hide.)

This penguin was a sneaky fellow. As we walked back toward the car toward the path he had taken out of the water, none of the other walkers seemed to have noticed him. (We asked.) We did, however, find his large and telltale tracks crossing the beach into the dune. This permitted Jeremy a necessary achievement point to allow calling it quits for the evening, in hopes of closer encounters on our next visit.

Next time, I will pack a penguin-viewing survival kit, which will include long underwear, parka, hat, gloves, water, and C rations.

We were too far away for a penguin photo this time, but, for your reference, here is what a yellow penguin looks like. Jeremy took this photo in 2006 when we came here on vacation. This bird is in his natural setting and can travel freely in and out of the ocean to fish, but he is part of a group that nests in a controlled environment set up for close observation. (Tourists can visit for a fee.)

Kiwi Haircut

This is Jeremy.

He hasn't cut his hair since September.

The neighbors finally complained. Really.

Liz said "Look, Jeremy: My hair lady is coming over Thursday night. While my highlight foils sit, she'll cut your hair."

Done.

This is Jill. A nice lady and a good stylist.

Jeremy enjoyed his cut, and Jill enjoyed his jokes.

Our New Neighborhood

Here in our new neighborhood in town, it's a longer walk to the beach and we miss the farm animals, but we are enjoying our walks through the sprawling cemetery on the sea cliff and across the sandy beaches below.

Here are some typical sights from our evening walks. (By the way, sunset today was at 9:20 PM, and darkness doesn't settle in until around 10.)

Homes are scattered over a hilly and irregular terrain.

New Zealand post box

Unique lawn ornament

(appears to be a former tram car)

Entrance to Andersons Bay Cemetery

The cemetery includes special areas for war veterans.

and offers many places for reflection.

Standing on the bluff (Lawyers Head), looking east toward Tomahawk Beach and the neighborhood of Ocean Grove

Now further west, we are looking down on St. Kilda Beach.

Lawyers Head is in the background.

Looking west, toward the other end of St. Kilda Beach

Waves crash at St. Kilda Beach.

Boys climb the dune at St. Kilda Beach.

The Mall?

During our Meet-the-Neighbors cook-out a few weeks ago, Russell and Cemil asked if we had been to "the Mall." First I supposed they were talking about the National Mall, and I thought this was a strange and random question. Then I presumed they must be referencing the Dunedin shopping mall. (if there is such a thing?) Jeremy at last deduced it was a place to walk somewhere on the bay.

After studying a map for a while, Jeremy discovered the mysterious site was actually the Mole--a jetty that stretches toward the ocean at the mouth of Otago Harbour, the bay around which Dunedin is built.

Tragically, this picturesque location became the site of the New Zealand's deadliest criminal shooting in November of 1990, when in the nearby village of Aramoana, a deranged citizen murdered 13 people in a shooting spree.

We recently paid a visit to the Mole, and Jeremy used his cartography and photography skills to create the following graphics for you.

Otago Harbour

The Mole

(looking back toward Dunedin)

A boat cruises past Taiaroa Head Light, which marks the entrance to Otago Harbour, and is also the home of a Royal Albatross colony.

Wildlife chills on the Mole rocks.

Woman At Work, Down Under

A former co-worker recently mentioned that he had yet to hear the four-letter word on my blog. He was referring to "work."

You will wait in suspense no longer.

Back in the summer, as we prepared to leave Virginia, I mentioned our move plans to a former boss I still keep in touch with. She encouraged me with the idea of starting my own online tech writing business, and I thought it was a perfect suggestion. (We'll call her Groovy Former Boss.) While I rushed around the last few weeks wrapping things up at work and packing up the house, Jeremy did most of the leg work to get my business set up and legal.

Once we arrived to New Zealand, Groovy Former Boss pinged me to see if I'd been able to get my business established, and she became my first client. Over the last several weeks, I have been providing document formatting and editing support for her company.

Here is a shot of my office--more like a corridor than an office, but it has a great view of the city, and warms up nicely in the afternoon sun.

And some of you think Jeremy is unemployed. Not true! He is serving as my IT support, legal consultant, accountant, and cafeteria chef. He has also volunteered to work as a live scarecrow near the clothesline.

In the kitchen, Jeremy specializes in what I call daycare foods, such as fish sticks, fries, and frozen veggies. However, his favorite dish to prepare is Taco Bake--a tasty casserole made with corn meal, ground beef, salsa, cheese, and corn chips. Here he is now placing a large piece on my plate.

As varied as his duties are, Jeremy could become bored with his current role, and may soon seek New Zealand employment. For now, he is enjoying some freedom earned by good financial management exhibited during the first 16 years of his adult life.

Click here to make Taco Bake.

Trials of Line-Drying

Ugh.

Does this alone not justify the use of automatic dryers?

Please excuse me while I go start an unplanned wash cycle.

Thank Goodness for Cricket

This year, Jeremy spent his Thanksgiving feeling thankful for the exhilarating sport of cricket. Jeremy was first indoctrinated into cricket while we visited my great aunt and uncle in England several years ago. "Are you keen on cricket?" Uncle Peter asked him pointedly. And they spent the next couple days bonding in front of the TV set. Jeremy has enjoyed it ever since.

For those of you who are uninitiated, this is the only sport in which the players wear sweater vests and take lunch and tea breaks. Oh, they also take bedtime breaks, because the matches can last from one to FIVE days. Really.

Earlier in the week, Jeremy informed me that he had bought a ticket for Thursday's segment of the New Zealand vs. Pakistan match here in Dunedin. (I had temporarily forgotten about the modest length of cricket matches.)

"Oh, are you going by yourself, or with Russell?" I asked.

"By myself."

"You know, I don't mind going to a sporting event with you every now and then," I returned. ...pause... "How long is it?"

"Eight hours or so."

So Jeremy went by himself.

The only problem with this little plan was that I had to drop him off at the field and later pick him up again. Remember how I told you that driving on the left side in the countryside is a cinch? Well, driving in town is different. I can't remember feeling that scared before. I think my heart actually crunched up into a little ball.

Almost immediately after Jeremy exited the car, I made a right turn without checking the oncoming traffic. Later, coming back to retrieve him, I messed up in the traffic circle and had to turn around and come back through it. Jeremy later informed me that I didn't need to go into the traffic circle at all. Twice for nothing! Eight hours of cricket might have been preferred.

Jeremy would like to share the following photos with you from his big day:

Shane Bond bowling to the Pakistani batsman

Chris Martin bowls in Pakistan's first innings

Lunch break allows spectators out on the pitch

Daniel Vettori bowls in the evening of day 2

The Woodshed

Feeling the chill? Head on down to The Woodshed. They've got wood...

And lots of it.

A friendly mate in a blue union suit (matches the trucks) will hand you some feed sacks, and you can go to town.

They have the smooth roundy kind...

And the rough shreddy kind.

And if coal is more your thing...they've got that too.

It's all here, at The Woodshed.

Karitane Beach

Took these a couple weeks ago. Karitane Beach was a ten-minute drive up the Coast Road from our house in Warrington. The geography is a peninsula between the ocean and bay, with a sharp point that juts out into the ocean with signature erosive features. Jeremy would ride his bike from our house to this beach a couple times a week.

Approaching the point, ocean side

Heading up, past the archway

Not feeling comfortable to walk any further along the ridge

Looking back

Looking toward land

Following the bay side

Old Hobbit Estate

Remains of old whaling station along the bay

Back to the ocean side