Happy Christmas!

So here we are, experiencing our first hot and sunny Christmas. It really doesn't feel festive, but we have to admit to preferring this to what everyone at home has been putting up with for the past few weeks!

Yesterday Andy went for a run up the Grampian hill range then up to the centre of New Zealand, and all before lunch! The geographical centre, as far as surveyors are concerned, is on a hill at the back of Nelson, with fabulous views all around. The Grampians, well they speak for themselves, really. They are, perhaps, a little less remote than their namesakes. Chris went up to the centre point too, then back down for another run along the riverside - much more civilised.

In the afternoon we wandered around the town some more, and found a picturesque hill at the back of the town with a church up the top (a beer for the first person to work out what that is called) with an brewhouse from a Wellington based brewery which serves fab beer close by, so we stopped for a light refreshment. In the evening we had to take advantage of the arrangement the pub over the road from the hostel has with the fish and chip shop next door to it where you can order your "fash and chaps" (in local lingo) and they will bring it to you in the pub! Brilliant. We then decided to wander back into town, which was absolutely dead apart from the church up the hill where there was a carol service going on. Again, very wierd to be listening to carols when it is warm outside. As we were there, it would have been rude not to pop into the brewhouse for another light refreshment... But apart from that area, the town was deserted, which was quite strange.

Saturday morning we wanted to stick to our usual tradition of working off at least a little of our Christmas dinner before we've eaten it. However, although there are bikes that can be borrowed at our hostel, they are a little the worse for wear, and Chris had already pumped up the tyres on one only to find the handle bars were loose with no allen key around to tighten them with, and wasn't about to pump up any more tyres, so a rycle wasn't on the cards. So we went for run up to the centre point on the top of the hill behind us again, taking the longer path up with Andy running on ahead and the returning back to get some hill sprints in whilst Chris took a more sedate pace. After a well earned brekkie, we sauntered along to a Japanese garden nearby and sat at a pond watching some tiny ducklings try to swin against the strong wind. On the way back, we bumped into a couple from Israel who were in the same hostel as us in Ahipara (90 mile beach) and whom we had also seen in the information centre in Taupo! Whilst it's not surprising to sometimes see the same people in different hostels, as we have had different itineraries from this couple and we are bumping into them in the street, it's quite a coincidence.

And so we now await our first Christmas barbeque - bring it on!