Boxes

I wrote a new entry for our blog on Saturday, went to post it to the site and then was told I had to reconnect. Needless to say, by the time I logged on again the post had been lost and I was so fed up I couldn't be bothered to write it all again.
Anyway, the major exciting event of last week was the arrival of our nine, slightly rounded boxes which have been on the road/ocean for ten weeks. They have faithfully protected our stuff all the way from the Sheffield and not a single item was damaged. We did wonder what the thought was behind packing some items which we seem to have little use for here but generally it's great to have our 'things'. Photos of family and friends cover nearly every available surface which is lovely and it makes you all seem slightly nearer!
Last weekend was Labour Weekend - a little like a Bank Holiday. Lots of people take the opportunity to go away for a few days but those who don't seem to spend their time doing the same as people in England - DIY and gardening! Rangiora has an annual A & P show (agricultural and pastoral!) and the carnival opens on the Friday evening. Lots of the youth were talking about going so we decided to go together. It wasn't very thrilling and they seemed disappointed though I'm not sure why as the standard comment was "It wasn't very good last year either!" We'll have to wait and see what their memory is like in 2005.

On Monday we went 'tramping', the NZ term for hiking. We tramped up Mount Richardson (1043m) with some people from church. Most of the walk is through 'bush' and it took us a couple of hours to reach the top. We had hoped the early morning cloud and mist would clear by lunchtime but it didn't so the view from the top was rather opaque as we actually couldn't see anything at all! Oh well, always another day! It was amazing to sense the different sights, sounds, smells, textures and tastes. We tried 'honey dew' which is produced by an insect that lives in fungus on the bark of a tree. The honey drops out from little white strings that protrude from the fungus and it gives the most distinctive, sweet smell. It tastes lovely too! You're advised not to climb the mountain in the summer because the wasps are unbearable. The fungus is bizaare because it's black and appears like soot but when you touch it it's fluffy and it doesn't brush off the bark. If you do tear a section off it acts like a sponge - it doesn't feel wet at first but if you squeeze it has stored so much moisture you almost wring it out! Anyway, I was fascinated! We ate the leaves of a pepper plant to and I won't insult your intelligence by telling you what that tasted like! By the way, the people we went tramping with did know exactly what we were trying and they tried it too so we knew it was safe! There are definitely some interesting botanical photos from our expedition and they will be posted shortly - bet you can't wait!
The most unusual aspect of the day was the number of trampers we passed who were carrying large shot guns - slightly disconcerting. Apparently could have been shooting wild pigs but we didn't see any evidence...