Its Christmas time again, and this wombat is once more in the Land of the Long White Kiwi.
It feels like i've been on the road so much in the last couple of weeks, with two trips to Melbourne a week apart, then barely a week after THAT trip, packing up my little nest and driving to Sale, then to Melbourne and across the ditch again. Its been two years since I was here last - which has been a while, I know. My poor passport hasn't had a workout in a very long time; every time it sits unused for more than a year is a crying shame. At least Australian Immigration were kind enough to stamp it as I left - NZ Customs don't and can't stamp Australian passports. Oh well... to get all the pages used in this little blue book I'll have to find somewhere else to do it!
Thursday was a brilliant summers day well befitting Christmas, although waking up early wouldnt have been my first choice (especially given that the time difference made it worse!), but Wellington in the morning was very picturesque, and it didn't take long to get up over the Rimutakas and to Masterton.
After a short (and somewhat unexpected) nap, Nick and I delivered a trailerload of the wrong mulch and spent an hour or so spreading it on the garden - but close enough was good enough!
Friday started out hot and summery enough, but just before I headed out to the local airport, things turned considerably for the worse and we endured a brief hailstorm, a fair bit of rain, and strong stormy winds which lasted until sometime Saturday afternoon. Friday was also the day I drove around Masterton looking for the post office, notable for two reasons. Firstly, the car was manual, and it had been about 12 months since the last time I drove a manual car, and secondly for this was the first time I'd ever actually driven a vehicle in New Zealand.
Finally finding a parking space in the busy main street of Masterton I set off on my quest for stamps.
You see, I'd left my Nengajo a little too late this year, so instead of being able to post them before I left, they had to be sent from here. So.. Australian ones, which were supposed to be pretty quick, now have to travel overseas too...
Anyway, the're done now, but the post box I dropped them into had already been cleared for the day, so there will be a slight delay in them actually being sent... oh well.
Christmas Day tomorrow, so Merry Christmas to all!
