I did manage to get a bit of study done in a quiet moment at work this morning, so I’m not feeling quite so panicked about my test on Friday (though I still need to get a lot more done before then), but I am still desperately in need of sleep. Luckily tonight’s meetup was…

My brother arrived late-ish last night, having flown to Blenheim, picked up his car and then driven down to Christchurch. It was really nice to see him on his own for a change, so we could have a proper conversation without being interrupted by the kids (much as I love my nephews, and love spending…

Well, we were able to relax in a visitor-free home for one night, anyway. I just got a phonecall from MrPloppy, who in turn had just had a phonecall from my brother, asking if he could stay at our place tonight. He’s passing through Christchurch on his way down south, and needs somewhere to sleep….

The Outlaws finally flew back to the UK yesterday afternoon. It’s been lovely having them here, but 5 weeks is a very long time to have visitors (especially when you’ve given up your bed for them!) and I must admit by last week I was getting impatient for them to leave. I feel a bit…

Got back from Auckland last night. I’m seriously shattered (despite the fact that MrPloppy and I piked out of the West Coast leg of the trip, staying at home for a few days instead), and I’ve got to go back to work tomorrow 🙁 I haven’t even managed to make release notes on all my…

You know that saying “Red sky at night…”? Well, it’s not true. The night before we left for Wellington there was the most glorious sunset, yet the next morning dawned grey and drizzly. The Outlaws had returned the campervan when they got back from the West Coast, so we were taking the train and ferry…

Easter Saturday, and (as mentioned above) the last day of the first half of our big trip. Before leaving Dunedin we had a quick look around the city (and, as I said above, released The Iceberg Hermit at the railway station, where it was very quickly caught) because the shops had of course all been…

They say the best thing about travelling is coming home – I reckon it’s coming home to find that one of the books you’ve released on the trip has already been caught: I left The Iceberg Hermit in the railway station in Dunedin this morning, and it was caught and journalled by lunchtime. Plus I…

The next morning we packed up the tent again (“assisted” by the campsite’s resident cat which came to check us out and beg for breakfast) and headed for Dunedin. We were booked into a campsite in Portobello, so once we got down the bay we put up the tent and then headed down to Tairoa…