Dutch treat..

Inge spotted a bargain in the supermarket...an electric poffertjes maker for $20! The ideal mothers day present for your typical aussie..
Its sometimes suprising to see certain dutch food in the supermarket, they have a lot of sweet stuff like taai taai, speculaas, hagelslag, appelstroop....what more do you want?

Other photo is of the two hairy kids..poco is 1 year old now, a bit of a timid cat a real mix of ragdoll and saimese.

Buddha's Birthday Festival

Sunday we went to the Buddha's Birthday Festival on the South Bank. Beautiful weather and atmosphere. We went to a number of lectures given by a buddhist nun from Sydney. A very entertaining speaker. Afterwards we walked through the stalls looking for some trinkets..

Christchurch Earthquake

Awful to see the devastation in Christchurch we were there 2,5 weeks ago, we recognise many of the locations. Such a beautiful city with nice old buildings now ruined and so many lives lost.

The death toll from the Christchurch earthquake could rise as high as 200 after police confirmed up to 120 people are feared dead at the Canterbury TV building site.

Police believe there are a further 22 bodies inside Christchurch's Cathedral Square.

They said 238 people were missing after Tuesday's 6.3 magnitude earthquake. The official death toll stands at 76.

Giants House in Akaroa

This house and garden was a pleasant suprise in Akaroa, built on a steep hillside above the town the house also doubles as a B&B. A local artist spent over 10 years building artwork sculpture in mosaic rather similar to Gaudi's Park in Barcelona and the quirky nature of Dali.

Christchurch Day 4 - trip to Akaroa - Dolphin Cruise

We hired a car and drove to Akaroa which is 1hr from Christchurch. Its a former French settlement and is built on a former volcano with a natural harbour to the sea. Its one of the few places in the world that you can see the rare Hector's Dolphin, only a few thousand left. It was a great boat cruise and the weather was perfect. We stayed in a small hotel/restaurant on the waterfront.

Christchurch Day 3 - at the flea market & in the city

We went to the local flea market just looking to see what the locals get up to on a Sunday. A trip on the city tram and a walk around the town square.

Christchurch Day 2 - punting on the Avon River

One of the touristy must-do's in Christchurch is punting on the Avon River. The river snakes thought the city and surrounding parkland. The punting is the same as in Oxford and Cambridge in England. We had a nice relaxing punt along the river.