People who know me and the things that really scare me (heights and not having my feet on firm ground) – prepare to be impressed!!

When I met my friend Guy, in Australia in 1989, he used to make us amazing scrambled eggs.  He still does!  Scrambled eggs on granary toast with smoked salmon.  What a lovely way to start the day.

We all got ready to go on a hike today but unfortunately the dogs couldn’t come.  Archie didn’t mind – he likes lieing on the sofa. Gumboots lined up and ready. One day I want to come back here and do a long tramp (hike) but what we did today was enough for now.

There is absolutely no way I am walking over that! See you later guys and I will relax and admire the view from this side.No, I really can not do that.  I did try but the bridge wobbled and it was soooo high I felt tearful and really shaky so I just couldn’t do it.  Be safe and have fun 🙂

Bex wouldn’t let me stay behind.  She was very insistent I walked over the bridge.  She is very  bossy persuasive.  

Look how far down the river is! I loved the view but I really hate heights.Yes, stunned and shocked faces – I did it.  Woo hoo! These are our lovely friends we are staying with; Guy, Bex, Ruby and Jake.  They all bunked off work, Uni’ and school today so we could spend the day together.  Happy days 🙂 The bush round here is so beautiful.  It was grey and drizzly today but to be honest it didn’t matter at all because the foliage is so dense you can’t see the sky anyway.  The scenery is so breathtakingly beautiful.  In the background you hear the water tumbling over the rocks and the gushing of numerous waterfalls.  It was a magical place. The euphoria of having walked over the bridge was then replaced with the fear of having to return back over it.  The return was slightly easier than the outgoing journey.  Shame about the bridge trolls we had to bypass 🙂 This tree fern was a long way below us which provided the opportunity to look down on it and admire the beautiful pattern. Go me, managing to take photos on the way back!Guy treated us all to a lovely lunch at a local vineyard.  There are many vineyards in this part of New Zealand so it seemed appropriate to visit one.
Vines in the background. We all shared some bread, humous and dukkah to start with. Then I had corn fritters with bacon, avocado, chipotle salsa and sour cream which was really good. In the afternoon Guy was very kind and took the children off so Bex and I could indulge in some retail therapy.  We went to Martinborough which is a quaint old town and promotes a lot of locally produced and sourced products. There is a huge wine store where we bought some lovely locally produced wines. I popped in to the library to visit Shirley, who used to live near me at home.  It was lovely to see her again.

The buildings round here are so quaint – it looks a bit like the towns you see in old cowboy films, set in the American Mid West.

Instead of dessert, we went to a chocolate shop called ‘Shoc ‘and bought a selection of choccies.  Yummy.  Sorry but we ate them all too quickly to manage a photo of anything other then the label!  This is the wine we enjoyed tonight.

We had a delicious dinner at home which Guy and Bex cooked; chicken cooked with spring onions and courgettes after being marinated all day in soy sauce, sesame oil and fresh ginger.  Served with rice and salad.  It was delicious.

I can’t believe I walked over that bridge today, twice, there and back!
Another wonderful day in this amazing country with very dear friends.