Queenstown lights and reflection

Our new house and a particularly colourful sunrise.

This a view from my drive to work.

Autumn Toadstools.

These two shots are both taken in Queenstown Gardens on the same morning just after sunrise.


This is the road to Glen Orchy. I love the light from the car headlights on the water and the rocks.

This is the TSS Earnslaw, a coal powered ship that’s been sailing on Lake Wakatipu for almost 100 years. The lights look amazing at night when it’s coming into dock.


Now it’s getting on for winter I’ve been enjoying the lights of Queenstown at night, particularly the reflections off the water.

The smoke coming out of this chimney was being lit from behind. The long exposure time of this photo really exaggerated the light and colour in the sky.

This is the Kawarau river just down the road from our house. I took these pictures last week on the way home from work.

UK '08

We returned to the UK at the beginning of April this year and the weather was absolutely gorgeous for about 2 months, followed by the wettest summer on record! After living in Queenstown and Austin this year, my overwhelming impression of the UK was how amazingly GREEN it is. It's so lush and so richly green in a way completely different to anywhere else I've been recently it took me quite a while to start finding it normal again. The West coast of NZ on the South Island gets a huge amount of rain and is also very green, but it's a much darker, more tropical feeling place. England on the other hand is more a shade of bright emerald or even lime green. It's funny what you don't see in a place until you leave and come back...

Our first trip to Robin Hoods Bay over on the East coast

We had great weather which made up for forgetting our tent and having to borrow one!

Our first day on the beach I spent balancing stones...



I saw an orthopaedic surgeon in May and got the all clear to have the metalwork removed in September



This was our first visit to the butterfly house since I proposed to Jen there back in 2003

The other animals held still better than the butterflies, especially the terrapins!

Beautiful sunset over lake Buttermere in the Lake District

Jen went on a Hen Do to Bath, which has a bit of a pig theme going on

This is us at Cragside, an amazing National Trust house and gardens in Northumberland near the Scottish borders

The house at Cragside

Giraffes in Edinburgh, where we met up with my brother for a wee trip around the Highlands

Jen at the Falls of Dochart

A great camping spot near Aviemore

The Rothiemurchus estate


Ben McDuie

Sunshine at Arisaig

Sunset at Arisaig

In my Tartan for a friends wedding

My 33rd birthday

TEXAS 2008

This is a small selection of photos from our time in Austin Texas earlier this year.

Arriving with a large pile of luggage.

Airport toilets...

Burgers with Derek & Amy at "Frans Hamburgers"

Funky interactive art piece

Steel Armadillo

Jen and little Levi (Mark & Hannah's boy)

Hannah trying out a bike

Mark trying out Levi's buggy!





Stone Tower at the "Lady Bird Johnston" Wildflower Centre

Interesting trail sign...Don't Run!

Texas Hill Country

Texas fast food

Art in the forest...

Jen trying out the rocking 'Unicorn'

Metal flower art

Austin's annual kite festival

Red balloons



Mark playing live at "South by SouthWest (SXSW)"

A night out in costume during SXSW

Derek's 40th birthday

Jen's Art Opening at the "Art House"

The nine colour pieces

"Austin"

Cool Graffiti

Beautiful springs we went swimming in

Wildlife at the springs...a corn snake I think

The "Art House"

The wall I built at the front of the house

Us and the Stoneys just before we left for the UK

Leaving New Zealand

We are going to leave New Zealand! At the moment we’re leaving on the 10^th January next year, giving us enough time to sell up and ship out. Even in 2 years we've acquired quite a lot of stuff. We’re planning on flying to Austin, Texas to stay with our good friends Derek & Amy for a couple of months. Then we’ll be back in the UK some time around the end of March, probably in Sheffield.

The reasons we’re leaving are pretty simple…firstly my broken leg. It’s healing up nicely and I’m now walking around without a stick, just a very slight limp. However when we saw the doctors last, around three weeks ago, they’re prognosis for recovery was a lot longer that we were expecting. Firstly they didn’t want me doing any impact for another 3 months, so no running or jumping, which are pretty essential in my job. Secondly they advised me against skydiving at all before the pin is removed…in about a year! This is due to an increased chance of breaking the bone while the pin is in...time for a change of plans!

The Second reason is that Derek & Amy invited us to go and live with them in Austin, which was an unexpected offer, but it only took us a couple of days to realize that it’s definitely the right thing to be doing. Plus, the art project Mangola that Jen is working on and involved in with Derek & Amy, is happening at the beginning of March in Austin. So all in all it's the place to be.

I’m really excited about going to Texas and having close friends around, and then being back in the UK, seeing family and friends we’ve only talked to on skype or e-mail for 2 years, it's going to be great! Having good friends around that we know well and are really comfortable with will be a really big change from most of our time here in NZ. It seems like the season for close friends is arriving and I'm really looking forward to it! I wonder what God has been teaching us while we’ve been down this end of the planet feeling a bit isolated?

I’m also looking forward to doing some work as a builder again and actually genuinely being self employed and having weekends off and stuff! With skydiving you’re technically self employed, but don’t get to enjoy any of the benefits, especially not weekends off. Fantastic job, but there’s always a down side!

I'll definitely miss the scenery though ... see you all soon!