The adventures of rooibaard and sexy legs

Friday, 16 September 2011

New Zealand, Wellington and South Island

So here we are, in New Zealand. 27 long hours of travelling from Lethbridge to Calgary to Vancouver to Auckland and then finally to Wellington. At the time of writing this blog we are sitting on the interislander, our lift back from the South to the North Island. We have had a couple of fantastic days but more of that in a minute.

I think for the moment we'll start in the beginning and in this case that'd be about a year and a half ago. At the time Adele and I were unemployed, studying for the Canadian exams and preparing for our trip to Canada. We'd been working and had some good financial reserves but travelling to a foreign country is really expensive and as such we were counting our pennies and watching our beans. At round about the same time the initial lottery for New Zealand rugby tickets was underway and I thought that might be fun and put in a request for 4 group packages for the Springboks.

Skip forward a bit (I can't remember the timeline exactly) and Adele and I are lying in bed (I think that by this stage we've written and passed our Canadian exam, have been holidaying and visiting with friends in SA and our beans and pennies are at critical levels) when I receive an e-mail saying that our ticket request has gone through and my credit card has been debited. Ooopsss! A surprised and less than elated Adele was soon to learn that we would be going to the rugby world cup 2011.

So here we are. Four of the Derman clan in New Zealand with a somewhat more enthusiastic Adele.

The travel is always a big part of any holiday and we had a good, albeit long trip to get here. It's somewhat bizarre that we left on Friday and arrived here on Sunday. (On the way back we leave on Saturday and get back at almost the same time as we leave – it's bloody time travel). Adele managed to notch up 3 movies on the flight. I managed to notch up 2 and read a book – awesome!

Not much more to say about the flight other than the New Zealanders are friendly (on the plane already) and the plane is the most cramped that I have ever been on and had to seriously resist the urge to run manically into business class and claim a little more leg room (I eyed the face paint Adele had brought for the game and my cutlery but a deep seeded fear of being cavity searched again kept me honest).

We arrived in Wellington at about 8 am to a very warm and happy reunion with my parents. It's been about 11 months since we left for Canada and it was really good to be together again (Neal and Mary are not with us this time and we miss them deeply but planning a fantastic holiday for them in Canada this December and can't wait!!). I think that without skype we'd have really, really struggled in Canada.

Wellington was a bit grey and rainy but we had a great time walking around the pier, getting our tickets and getting familier with our Campervan.

Our campervan is awesome. It's a six sleeper which is fully kitted with toilet and kitchen. I think that any smaller and it's be a bit tight. It's already a bit of a squeeze but we've managed well so far – jy moenie poop nie ne – and have fallen into a good routine.

We have only one rule regarding the campervan – let's just say that our toilet is more third nipple than functional.

Wellington harbor

The same night we had our first rugby match. SA vs Wales. By this stage Adele and I have about 3 hours sleep in about 48 hours and it was decidedly colder in Wellington than in Canada. It was also raining and we were excited but a little apprehensive about sitting in the cold and rain for 2 hours. At this stage I was also a bit sick. So a weird combination of sick, tired, wet and cold but still incredibly excited and happy to be here (Hope that makes sense). (I've gotten much better but have infected everyone else).

We arrived at the stadium and found that we were happily under cover so sat dry and snug while waiting for the game.

I'm sure that most of you guys watched the game. Was very tight and not our best performance to date but a win is a win in the world cup and we'll take it. Was a quite an exciting nail-biter. The highlight of the game for me will always be the 3 people that I sat with: Adele spent most of the time shaking her head and vloeking the bad performance. My Dad had his binoculars out and spent most of the time getting worked up and vloeking the ref and the players and calling the South African team a bunch of geriatrics who need to be pushed into an old age house. My mom kept on saying, “this is pathetic” and then laughing almost manically.

It was highly entertaining.

Wales vs Sa September 11 2011

From Wellington we caught the Ferry to the South Island. The Ferry ride is an awesome 3 hours. To start and end you pass through green hills, little islands and peninsulas on either side. Most of the people on the ferry are South African although there is a splatter of other rugby tourists and Kiwi's. Everyone is in really good spirits and it's great to meet other travelers. The great thing about coming on a “rugby tour” is that you instantly have something in common with that guy. The New Zealanders are also very proud of their small country and eager to help and chat.

More than one conversation started with, “ you guys almost received carrots last night” or “Wales should have beat you, you know?!”.

So the Ferry was a ton of fun (Although on the return it is lurching from side to side and Adele is looking greener and greener). We docked at Picton and departed for our South Island part of the trip. We had not booked anything and decided to wing it. Because we only had a short time we decided not to venture too far South. We had initially thought to go to Christchurch to have a look and support their economy but decided it was a bit far and my Dad was not willing to sleep there. I feel really sorry for them and hope to come back sometime and have a visit. We would also like to visit Dunedin and Queenstown, and I would LOVE to snowboard here so I guess we'll have to come back sometime.

Ferry between South and North

The South Island is spectacular. We drove from Picton passed Blenheim and stopped at Kaikoura for the night. The road was a windy coastal road for most of the way and the coastal views were breathtaking around every corner.

The vegetation is very dense and reminds me a bit of the Natal South Coast. The sea is blue and clear and in very close proximity to mountains, often still covered in snow. It truly is stunning and you can imagine why it was chosen to be the backdrop for the LOR movies.

We had a few good pit stops to look at seals, birds and the views.

Kaikoura is the crayfish capital of the South Island and we decided to stop about 23 km from our overnight stop to enjoy Sebastio and his family. We stopped at a place called Nims Bin. Nims Bin is a trailer located on a particularly pretty piece of seaside realty. They specialize in Crayfish – hot or cold, white bate and mussels. It was spectacular. We sat on the side of the road and enjoyed some New Zealand white wine and some fresh, perfectly cooked crayfish. Yum yum! Very idealic and picture perfect.

Crayfish in an idyllic setting

Kaikoura in Mauri means: Kai = food and koura = crayfish. It used to be a whaling station at one stage and then a fishing village. At one stage, apparently, it was considered to be a dirty, crayfish town and not too popular. Now it is a bustling tourist site with whale watching trips, dolphin encounters, all sorts of water activities and seafood restaurants.

We enjoyed a +- 2 - 3 hour walk around the peninsula and along the beach. It was green and lush – reminded me a little of Scotland. Again cannot tell you how beautiful it is here.

That night we braaied some steak and went to bed happy and full. Was a great first day on the South Island.

Kaikoura

The next day we left Kaikoura and decided to head for Hanmer hot springs. A fellow Campervaner had recommended it and we decided it was worth a look. It was a cold, grey, rainy day and we reckoned that some hot water sounded good as gold.

Spent most of the morning driving and enjoying the scenery as we wound our way into the mountains.

Hanmer itself is a small but quant town. The Campervan park is spotless and very well run (but all of them have been so far).

We spent the rest of the day soaking in the hot water that varies in temperature between 35 and 41 degrees celsius. Very relaxing and enjoyable with snow capped mountain views in the background. There were all sorts with us in the springs and lots of conversations about rugby and the different teams. One particularly charming toothless lady starting having a conversation with Dad about how maybe the water jets would knock some fat off her and how her friends wanted her to lose weight but she is happy with who she is. Have you seen Richard Derman speechless? He opened his mouth to answer her but couldn't find anything to say so shut it again. She then started to ask were she could find a pub in town but not a larny pub, rather a rough, gritty pub. I'm not sure what else she said, I'd started floating off in another direction at this point.

That night we found a warm fire and had a great meal, as well as sampling some of the local beers.

Another great day in New Zealand.

Hanmer

So from Hanmer Springs we decided to push and travel up to the Abel Tasman national Park. Abel Tasman was the first European to discover New Zealand. He thought it was part of Argentina and named it - Statenland. Later it was named New Zealand after Zeeland in Abel Tasmans native Holland. The story goes that when he arrived the Mauri came down to the beach and in their canoes to find out, friend or enemy. The Dutch mistakenly blew their horn which was seen as a challenge and in doing so mistakenly replied with the equivalent of, “hello good native people. We are here to eat your children and make concubines of your wives.” Needless to say the Mauri killed four of Tasmans men and he set sail never to return to New Zealand.

I digress a bit but read an interesting quote by captain Cook who had ten of his men killed and cooked by Mauris during his travels but still had a respect/liking for the islanders. He said, “Notwithstanding they are cannibals, they are naturally of a good disposition”.

Anyhow it had been pretty cold in the mountains and had snowed the night before. As such there was snow on the trees and side of the road as we wound our way through the mountains. This was my first day driving and was pretty hairy driving of some wet and icy roads. The vegetation here is completely different to Canada. Some of the bush is more familiar to South Africa and it was strange to see lush forest covered in a thick blanket of snow.

It was gorgeous though. The road really was a bit hairy and there were no opportunities to stop for photos but it was one of the highlights of the trip for me so far as we went round hair pin bends to more and more spectacular views of forrest, mountain and snow.

At one stage the stow began to melt and clumps of snow constantly rained down in front of us, There were often green mossy banks on one or either side, shadowed by tall snowy trees forming a canopy above us as white clumps gently rained down and sun broke through the trees. It was magical!

We stopped a few times on our trip North and met more and more friendly and helpful South Islanders.

Eventually we arrived in Kaiteriteri. It's early season for them and they are not expecting that much world cup related business so it was wonderfully quiet. The campervan park we stayed at was literally across the street from the beach and we had gorgeous views from the windows of our van.

Kaiteriteri is a popular holiday spot for wealthy New Zealanders. While it has the campervan park the majority of houses are modern and large, and mostly empty at this time of year. As such all the stores closed at 4h30 pm and we had the beaches mostly to ourselves.

The beaches here are a rich golden color and incredibly beautiful. We went for another long walk along the beach and cliffs and through the town. There were a few friendly locals around but it was mostly quite and idyllic and perfect. Had a great time just relaxing in Kaiteriteri.

There was no TV in Kaiteriteri but one of the bars in Rewaka had cottoned onto the fact that they could get some extra world cup traffic and ferried us and another group of South Africans the 8 km to their bar for supper.

Had a great time watching the Scotland, Georgia game, sampling some more beer and chatting to some of the locals. Some of them were rough but good humored and again, very proud and eager to share their information as well as to find out about South Africa.

Kaikoura

Kaiteriteri

Abel Tasman national park

There is a +- 50 km coastal track through the Abel Tasman national park. It's very popular especially in summer and you can hike it over 3 days. Another option is to catch a boat from Kaiteriteri which drops you off and you do bits of it and then catch the boat back. The water is clear, clear, clear and another great way to do it would be to sea kayak. If given a chance I would love to come back and do this in the warmer months.

We opted to drive to Marahau and walked the track for about an hour and a half at which stage we turned around and walked back. Lots of birds and lots of water and great scenery.

At the start of the path there is an adventure travel centre that has a wonderful hippy garden with all sorts of carvings.

My favorite is below.

This carving depicts Ranginui and Papatuanuku. The Mauri creation story is that at first there was the void, and then Ranginui and Papatuanuku (sky father and earth mother) embracing each other with their children between them. They loved each other but their children were stiffled and could not see in the darkness. Eventually their children managed to push them apart and became gods of the land and sky. Sky father and sky mother still mourn their separation and he cries rain from the clouds and she cries streams and rivers into existance.

Sky father and earth mother

From Marahau we travelled through Motueka and Richmond and past Nelson to Havelock. A South African we had met (who happens to know friends of ours in South Africa – small world) recommended a place called the Muscle Pot. Havelock is famous for it's green shelled mussels and this sounded too good to pass over.

It was getting a bit late for lunch at this stage and we arrived to see a nice big closed sign on the door. We were all hungry and Dad shot me a, “ Ryan, I'll kill you” because I'd said earlier that it'd still be open.

Just as I was about to make a dash for Mexico the door swung open and the owner said we could come in if we liked and have some lunch.

Now if you've ever been invited into a closed restaurant you'll know that the host/restaurant doesn't need to do much after that to make you happy. They've already won a little just by letting you in. That being said though we proceeded to have one of the best meals of my life. We had steamed and battered and marinated and mussels in garlic and mussels in thai green curry. It was unbelievably awesome and we sent on it's way with really delicious wine from the area. The hostess was very friendly and shared a few jokes, as well as needed advise on the wineries in the area.

Was a great day!

From there we went wine tasting at Nautilus in the Marlbourgh area (The famous South Island wine area which churns out delicious sauvignon blancs. Really have enjoyed their white wines. They only have about 1 percent of the world market).

Nom nom nom

Muscle Pot

Eating mussels seems to bring out the best in the Dermans. Below is a picture of Neal when we were in Paternoster with some serious food envy looking at Mary's mussels. This picture still makes me wet myself with laughter.

The next 2 pictures are of my Mom thoroughly enjoying the green mussels on this trip. :)

So we spent the night in Blenheim, had the breakfast of champions this morning (wine) – stopped at another wine farm (Whither hills) and made up way back to Picton to catch the Ferry.

Got to the Ferry a bit early so walked around pleasant Picton and enjoyed some good coffee.

And that is pretty much that.

We are in Wellington for 2 nights again. Rugby tomorrow night and hopefully some more great adventures.

Nautilus wine farm

Have a few more things to put in before I sign out.

The first is that the driving has been a lot of fun. My Dad has been doing most of the driving which has been a bit hairy at times. As I said above the roads have been narrow and very windy. In some parts there have been cliff side drop offs and it's been great for a bit of adrenalin. My Dad seems to like to up the ante a bit and will periodically sneeze closing his eyes for a harrowing few seconds. Another thing he'll do is point out a bird and wobble into the oncoming lane – lots of fun :)

Yesterday was particularly entertaining as he asked for an apple to eat as we were driving down 1 particularly perilous mountain road. I imagined him eating, sneezing and bird watching and driving and forbade him from eating the apple much to his chagrin. Happily we stopped and had lunch at the restaurant above so all was forgiven.

Also wanted to say YAY Canada! Congrats on beating Tonga!!!!

So that is pretty much New Zealand to date.

Loving being here with the folks. Wish Neal and Mary were here. As well as Ma en Pa en Shani.

Let us know how you're doing. If you watch the next game I'll be that naked guy on the field.
Please see the rest of our photos at http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150366883515867.404797.532515866

Much Love

Ryan, Adele, Rich and Deb

As a footnote.

The time between the last blog and this blog have been spent going to the Calgary Zoo, hiking in Waterton national Park, having a doggy date with Kumeo, braaing, visiting the South african store in Calgary, roofing a house, waking up early for the opening rugby game and just having a ton of fun. What a wonderful life! What a wonderful world!

Bagel giving us the eye when we go to work in the am

I think this is called a Thistleberry

Hiking in Waterton

Sunday, 7 August 2011

Rockies, Parades, Vegas, Montreal

This is going to be a fairly long blog. It's been a long month and a bit with a lot to share.

Summer in Canada is awesome for a lot of reasons. The days are long and there is a whole ton of stuff to do. Canadians also embrace these warmer months and you'll find them outside hiking, kayaking, fishing, going to festivals or farmers markets, camping, gardening and doing almost anything to get outside, in a really enthusiastic manner. I guess when you've got almost 5 months of snow then it makes sense to enjoy the sunny seasons.

I started this blog sitting in Vegas departures waiting for our flight home.

From where I'm sitting I can see a whole bunch of my fellow travelers gambling and drinking in the airport which pretty much sums up Vegas.

Vegas is a crazy, crazy place. It's a big, loud hedonistic dream (often the embarrassing type you don't share with polite company). It's built for entertainment baby and lures most into the spending of large amounts of money.

The reason we are in Vegas? Bob Dylan! Adele is a huge fan and hasn't been to Vegas so we decided to brave the heat and go see what the Bob had to say for himself (And it was part of Adele's birthday present).

We arrived on a Friday and checked into the Palms casino. During our stay we had a helicopter flight, gambled a bit, had a fair share of multicolored cocktails, walked the strip and watched the Bob. Was a lot going on so will highlight a few experiences/thoughts below

1. Vegas is a crazy place

2. Downtown vegas to Fremont street is a 10 km walk. Maybe you should check with a map before walking this in 37 degree heat. Adele and I stopped in casinos on our little strip hike and had a few cocktails every now and then. After a while we ran out of spots to drink and had to hoof it, dry, for a few km (VELLY, velly hot). Arrived in Fremont and drank the biggest cocktail we could find. Have a funny tan because we got sunburnt on one side of our bodies – spared where our shadow fell.

3. Bob Dylan is old and raspy but was awesome. We both really enjoyed his show. The audience was just as interesting as he was. Before the show we chatted to a couple who had been to 107 of his shows. Another chap was chatting to another Bob-afficionado and they where boasting about who had been to which concerts, comparing notes and were getting really excited about the, “ best singer-song writer of our time. A legend. One of the best story tellers ever”.

When Bob came on the crowd of about 2000 people (It was quite an intimate venue) stood up, fist pumped and cheered. The was a very large portion of the crowd that looked like they had either 1) not left the 70s or 2) were reliving some acid/drug fueled day in the 70s. Can't really adequately explain it but was very interesting and entertaining.

Bob is doing quite well for a 70 year old fellow who is still touring. His voice is a lot hoarser and I'm sure he's lost a few moves but it was fantastic watching a living legend.

Every now and then he would do a knee pump or stand wide stance and swing his hips (Happily his hip didn't pop out). It was gritty and imperfect but I wouldn't expect a 70 year old rock star to be any different – to me it gave the show a feeling of authenticity that I really enjoyed. Adele really enjoyed the show and I'm really happy we went.

4. Took a flight over Vegas in a helicopter. Was a bit pricey and short but was a fun way of seeing the strip.

5. Don't go swim in a Vegas pool if you have any hang ups about your body. Spent a while in the Palms pool fulled with hoards of bronzed and toned bodies. Not really my scene – there was a very large amount of image savvy people clad in very little. I'm sure if recycled there was also enough plastic to keep Tupperware industry going for a few years. Also there's no room nor is it deep enough to swim – I love pools but for swimming and don't get it if there's nothing to do but float, flex, ogle or drink. Was a fun vibe and probably being a bit judgy but not my scene. If you like partying, drinking, have a signed photo of yourself or like dry humping strangers in a pool next to other strangers then go for it.

6. Met a few interesting characters who work in Vegas that have wound up here by some or other chance. Our driver today had set up casinos in South Africa and spent months in SA. Was nice to chat to someone who's experienced home. Must be an interesting place to work. I'd love to come back and visit vegas off strip to get a feel for how the locals live.

7. If you want to forget your name, be someone else or have almost any experience that money can buy then come to vegas. Was a fun weekend.

Funny story: Every time we've been to a North American airport Adele has been “randomly” selected for a bag check, body scan or gun shot residue/chemical check. A friend of ours, also with a green passport, has been through a similar experience. Today for the first time my little criminal was not subject to an interrogation of any sort. Funnily though, out of the 20/30 people ahead of us a guy just before Adele was selected who happens to be South African and was complaining to his buddy, “Hoekom kies hulle altyd my?!”.

Damn you green mamba, damn you “random” checks.

So that's Vegas. Flight delayed 20 minutes! So have a little more time before we get going. Not a lot of photos of vegas because one of us, not Adele, forgot to charge our camera fully.

Where I did not forget to charge my camera or charge a battery was on our recent trip to the Canadian rockies with Claire and Nic.

We were very lucky to have them come visit us for a week. Had an amazing time.

They are great, great holiday companions. Very easy and Nic puts out. Seriously though, they are wonderful and if you don't know them then you should probably get to know them so you can go on holiday with them – you can thank me later.

More of that in a second.

Just before our holiday in the rockies we joined a friend of ours and his family in Raymond, Alberta for our first street parade. Mike, who invited us, is from Seattle and is used to parades with fighter jets and giant floats but he promised us a good show (Crop dusters and kids throwing candy) so we went for the fun.

It was well worth the trip. Raymond is a small place but on this day the town swells from about 2000 to 10000 people. It's a big family reunion day and people get together to celebrate with their clans.

The parade was awesome! Funny and awesome! Verry, very funny!

Imagine a procession of horses, cars, advertising, cars coming down the road all throwing sweets onto the road and into the crowds as kids run between the procession to collect their candy.

There was a float for the local jail, a solitary octagenarian on his scooter, skateboarders, a Davey Crocket look alike and other fun and silly items in the procession. Was a good laugh and a fun day. One of the funniest floats was a plumbers van with a toilet mounted on the roof and a young boy seated on it, throwing candy into the crowd.

Will post a few pics below.

After the parade Mike showed us around and we had a fantastic family lunch with them. Was great to be included and will definitely be back to the Raymond parade. Missed the crop dusters flying overhead so will have to go back next year.

Almost forgot, the parade was to celebrate Canada day. Don't think it's as crazy as the 4th of July in the USA but they do a really good job of being patriotic. That morning we had breakfast at one of the other docs house. Was a fun morning and got to meet a few new people. They're the kind of people who include everyone, are warm and kind and it was great to be there. Sang “O Canada” which is their national anthem – getting quite fond of this song.

Raymond parade

In all it's glory

Child throwing Candy from toilet

The timeline goes like this in case you're getting a bit confused: Raymond, rocky mountains and stampede (Nic and Claire), Adeles car, week of work, Vegas, week of work, airshow and birding, week of work and finally long weekend in Montreal.

Back to Nic and Claire. Picked up Nic and Claire at the airport for a week of fun in the rockies. Drove from Calgary to Banff. From Banff up to Jasper along the Icefields highway. From Jasper back down to lake Louise. From Lake Louise to Canmore and then back to Calgary where we enjoyed the Stampede before they headed off to visit other friends.

The rockies were wonderful. Have a whole bunch of photos which will do it much more justice than my words so please check them out on facebook – see link http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150316491245867.390476.532515866&type=1 , will post a few below too.

A typical day would be us getting up early (Usually around 6-30/7), having a bowel of cereal or breakfast if included, going for a hike, having a sandwich or lunch out, having a rest, going for another hike and then having supper or a barbecue.

It's a really busy time of year and we did really well by getting up a bit early and often didn't have anyone hiking with us which was awesome considering that Banff looks a bit like disney land when everyone gets up and running.

Again did a tons of stuff so here is our trip summarized below

Accommodation: Stayed in a whole range of accommodation. From really world class backpackers to cabins and lodges. In Banff we were close to the river. In Jasper we were a little out of town but had good access to a few hikes. In lake Louise we stayed at a place on a popular hiking trail and next to a river – had a lekker braai by the river. In Canmore we stayed in quite a lekker backpackers.

The hiking: Enjoyed all the hiking. Was just great to be outdoors with clean air and really good company. As I said – we hiked in the morning and in the afternoons mainly. In Jasper we have quite a lot of fun hiking near a glacier (Not on a glacier) where there was still quit a lot of ice – in fact some of the hikes where not open because of the heavy snows this year. Hiked/Crawled up the steep icy bits and attempted to ski down. Also hiked to a few lakes in Jasper – Crystal clear and perfect water.

Nic and I swam in almost every lake we came across. The water was usually incredibly cold and we never lasted that long inside. The water was clear and perfect though. Got braver and braver and spent more and more time in the water every day.

Hiked in Lake Louise and Banff to many a mountain lake and up a few mountains. Spectacular views and scenery. Also caught the gondola up the mountain in Banff.

I would say we averaged about 6 to 12 km a day +- Was fun and amazing and can't wait to do it again.

Mountain lakes: Lots of cold mountain lakes to swim in. They all were picture perfect and there were bright blue, light blue, turquoise, ice filled, red and all sorts of other wonderful colours.

Icefields highway: Drove the Icefields highway up to Jasper and back to lake Louise. Rated by many online as the prettiest drive of their life. Was really spectacular with mountain and lake vistas. Drove past and walked to glaciers on the way – hence “Ice”fields highway.

Weather: We were incredibly lucky with weather. Had mostly perfect, sunny days. On the 1 or 2 days that it was overcast and rainy we were lucky to be driving the Icefield highway or doing something that else.

Game, birds and flowers: We where really lucky with game. We saw a Grizzly bear, brown bears with cub, a Moose, Elk, white tailed dear, Marmots, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, chipmunks and all sorts of other small furry creatures. Considering that there are only 300-400 Moose in the park we were incredibly lucky. I think the only manimal we did not see, that we wanted to see, was a beaver – sorry Claire.

Enjoyed some good birding too. Often when we go birding our fellow travelers eyes will glaze over and they'll feign some interest. Nic and Claire were awesome – they (esp Claire) got out the book with Adele and spent good time looking up birds on hikes or sitting next to rivers or lakes. Claire has a green thumb and we really enjoyed the flowers we found on the trails. There were all sorts of interesting and wonderful orchids in all shapes and sizes.

Banff: Busy but very pretty and the town has been designed with mountains seen down all the main roads. Adele and I got a bit tiddled here in a pub listening to a band singing about getting tiddled – a lot of fun on her birthday. Banff was also the site of our first swim in the river – maybe the coldest of them all. Nic managed to get in until the water was somewhere between his knees and his waist and then exited very quickly.

Jasper: Equally as pretty. A little less busy than Banff. 2 nights here. Some great hikes. Great little places to eat.

Lake Louise: Stayed in nice Cabins. First cabin along the walk through a Canyon – really pretty. Second cabin along a river where we braaied. Lake Moraine – probably one of the prettiest lakes. Had an awesome hike uphill to a tea house. Claire “lied” to Nic about how far a hike was – very funny – Nic had thought it was a 30 min walk when it was actually a 7 km round trip.

Canmore: Out of the park but very equally as awesome. Lots of wonderful places to eat – great food and beer in a small micro brewery. An old quarry serves as a large outdoor pool. Spent an afternoon swimming with mountain view in all directions and enjoying the locals.

View from top of Banff Gondola

Hiking in Jasper

Scrambling in Jasper

Break time

Glacial water and cold feet

Loved the trees

Wild manimals

Stop on Icefields highway

Dis Koud jong

Morraine lake

Legends

So we had a fantastic time in the mountains. Cannot get enough of that mountain air and scenery. Don't think I did it enough justice but trust me when I say, “make friends with Nic and Claire, and then go on holiday with them. Thank me later :)”

After the rockies we went to the Calgary stampede. Yee hah!

The Calgary stampede is dubbed the greatest outdoor show on earth and I think it did pretty well in living up to the hype. We stayed in quite a nice backpackers within walking distance to the stampede grounds which was very lekker and convenient. I had made a mistake and accidentally only booked for 3 of us so the guy let us double bunk for free – yay!

The stampede was a lot of fun. Lots of cowboy hats, beer and fried everything – we tried a deep fried twinki among other greasy, delicious delicacies.

We went to a dog show (very cool), watched Chuckwagon races and a very trippy but fun evening show, enjoyed a few show rides and watched the rodeo.

I think the rodeo was the highlight of the stampede for me. Lots of adrenaline and very exciting. Next yr is the 100 anniversary and you'll definitely find Adele and I sitting beer in hand, cowboy hat on head and having a fantapantastic time.

Kitted out for the stampede

Rodeo

Yee ha

So you'd think that this would almost be done but you're wrong. If you've read this far then you either love us and enjoyed reading this, have nothing to do, are stuck somewhere with an internet server that only gives you access to this page or have read this over a few days. What ever your reason, thanks for getting this far. Have already condensed everything and not sure I've done it justice but you're almost there . . . . . you can do it!

Last weekend we spent a weekend in Montreal, Quebec. We had a really good time on honeymoon in Paris and have been told that Montreal is a very vibey and romantic city. My hope was that we could have a quiet, romantic weekend together in a new city.

I think that we achieved that.

Montreal was awesome. It doesn't feel like you're in Canada at all. When you arrive in Montreal all the signs are in French, everyone speaks French and the tourists are French. I think Quebec is the only place in Canada that does not need to, legally, have duel language signage.

Like a country within a country.

We stayed in the Old town and downtown parts of Montreal close to all the action.

Old town Montreal has cobble stone streets, is very busy and has a wonderful cafe culture – lots of pavement specials as my dad would say. The buildings are all old or have to be built in the same style as the other buildings in the area so there is a very old, European feel to the city. If anything burns down you are not allowed to rebuild. One of the restaurants have taken advantage of this and use the skeleton of the burnt out building as an outside eating space in Summer. Downtown Montreal is a bit of old and new juxta positioned and is also very vibey and busy with lots of boutiques and eateries especially on St Catherine street.We found French Canadians to be just as friendly as all other Canadians. There were 1 or 2 snooty waiters/waitresses who gave Africa time a run for it's money and were a little more rude than we're used to but generally a friendly, awesome city.We spent most of our time walking and enjoying the sites. These are my 3 highlights

- On day 2 we walked from our hotel up to the top of the Mount Royal (A mountain in the centre of montreal (Which gives Montreal it's name). From the top on we enjoyed panoramic vistas over the city and watched people reading, hiking, running, cycling, doing tai chi and generally enjoying this green space. Interestingly the park was designed by the same designer as Central park.From the mountain we walked down and North East through the city. We had a tasty lunch and then walked to another park where we relaxed and lay under a tree reading. Then we walked back along the length of St Catherine street through the Village, the largest gay village in North America, through the Latin district and through the rest of downtown. Was a glorious 16 km walk with lots to see and tons to do. In summer in Montreal there are a few areas that are blocked off to cars and as such there is a very energetic street culture - wonderful!!

- Went on an amphibious bus tour through downtown and old town Montreal. Was an interesting vehicle – not the fastest on land or water. Learnt lots of fun facts about Montreal like the Empire state building is based on an original building done by the same architect in Montreal. He liked the result so much that he built the same building, albeit a bit bigger in New york.

- On our last night Adele and I had a yummy supper in Old town. From there we walked down the canal as it got darker. There was a lovely ambience and it was very romantic. Was the perfect way to end of a very wonderful weekend. Loved you Montreal. hope to see you again soon.

Old town

More modern downtown

View from Mt Royal over old town and downtown

Loved the burbs

Just for laughs comedy festival

Old town

Pavement culture

Romantic at night

So that pretty much sums up our last 5 weeks. There are a lot more things to add but I think this has been long enough so am just going to list them in point form.

– Have discovered Frisbee golf. There are different Frisbees with different weights and properties for different effects.

– Saw Harry Potter – awesome!!! Sad that Sally will not have any more adventures.

– Bagel says hi and seems to be happy and still well adjusted.

– We bought a second car – a little Volkswagen Beatle. Got it for a really good price and it's a fantastic little car.

– Have submitted all our forms for permanent residence. Hopefully in 6 months we will be permanent residents of Canada.

– We might buy a house – will keep you posted. Is the same price as renting but still a big decision and the cause of some stress.

– Chantal and Duncan threw a surprise dinner for Adeles birthday with a few of our favorite people.

– Lethbridge has quite a popular airshow which we enjoyed from a friends garden. Was awesome. Last yr there was a crash – luckily not oopses this year.

– Have found a retired fire fighter who takes us birding. Knows all the spots and has a really good knowledge. Have had 1 really great trip with him.

– Have made some really good Canadian friends who we spend a lot of time with. Whether it's the docs at the clinic or Jessica and Steve. Feel like we are starting to have a great network of locals to hang out with and have fun with :)

As far as the eye can see.......

So hi to all you wonderful people. We love and miss you. Hope to see or chat to you soon.

Thanks for reading this and let us know what your news is.

Ryan and Adele

Wednesday, 29 June 2011

Summer is here

Lethbridge is green

Pretty wife

I'm the King. You can feed me now

A little older since we last chatted. Again, we have been busy and have lots to tell you.

The first thing that we should tell you is that we are staying here another year. We have decided and the clinic has accepted our request to stay with them for another year. After that? Will have to see what happens.

I have to say that I'm a bit two minded at the moment. On the one hand I'm loving our lifestyle, my patients and this wonderful country. On the other hand I miss all you Safas terribly.

Have also been looking at buying a house. Prime here is 3 to 4 percent. Would cost about the same as renting. Just need to find a property that we will be able to resell if needed.

After my last blog we made our way up to Calgary and then Winnipeg on our live music run.

In Calgary we saw Switchfoot. The venue was at the university and it was pretty awesome to see an international, grammy award winning act in a venue much the same size our school hall at hilton.

We were right against the fence, right next to a big speaker and right near all the action.

The great thing about our spot was that we had uninterrupted views of a very cool and energetic band.

Down side is that the every time there was a loud wail or note, or in fact any sound, belted out from the speaker system I could feel the pulse through my jiggly bits. It left us feeling a bit wobbily.

We resorted to chewing our tickets and making improvised earplugs which helped and we had a fantastic concert. Small and intimate venue with a band that knows how to rock the party that rocks the party.

As a result of the concert Duncan developed some nasty tinnitus in his left ear. The tinnitus lasted a total of 3 days before resolving.

After Calgary we woke up very early and flew to Winnipeg (Manitoba – check).

We arrived in Winnipeg a bit tired and a little grumpy. It was a dark and rainy day and we were all a little jaded. We decided to catch a bus to save money and I think we were all starting to doubt our choice of weekend destination. It didn't help that a 20 something Canadian girl asked us, “what are you guys doing in Winnipeg, nothing happens here?”

The bus trip was a little interesting and for the first time in Canada I felt a little uneasy. I'm not sure how to describe it but was sure the granny next to me was packing a Glock and was waiting for a reason to use it.

The rest of the day was much the same. We chose all the dodgy roads, all the dodgy malls, all the dodgy spots.

We walked down to The Forks, a really pretty spot and had a fantastic supper so the day did get better but I remember lying in bed thinking, “ Holy crap, what are we going to do for the next 3 days”.

As with most things in life we woke up the next day and Winnipeg did a 180 on us.

Duncan and I decided to rent a car to expand our reach a bit and as we walked there, and as we drove back in our rented car, the sun came out and Winnipeg started looking amazing.

The river glistened, children sang and little old ladies retired their Glocks and danced in the puddles. Too much? Seriously though, that's what it felt like.

The next few days flew by and were awesome.

We spent time looking at bison, watching birds, going for long walks, had pub food with life music and had a very lekker time.

One of the highlights were the Manitoba legislative buildings. A mix of roman, egyptian and greek architecture. It was beautiful and interesting. The tour guides are all doing holiday jobs and were incredibly helpful and informative. We lucked out and arrived on an open day so all of the tourist sites were free and open to the public.

Legislative buildings with Mani and Toba. Get it - Mannitoba. I didn't - a little embarrassing for me :)

Another free site was a replica fort. We watched a guy make some tools in a fire and had an axe throwing competition. Funsies and interesting! Adele did ok with the axe throwing – I think I've got slightly less than a 50 percent chance should I ever piss her off and should she be wielding a throwing axe.

Life just got more dangerous

Winnipeg turned out to a be a gem and we had a great weekend.

The highlight of the weekend was definitely U2 and The Fray though. We got there later than we had hoped (An hour before) but still managed to get into the “golden circle” along with other people who'd been waiting for 8 hours – felt a little guilty about that.

The stage, our spot and a very polite Canadian crowd made for a very pleasant concert. We were wedged between the 2 stages and the revolving bridge passed over us – frikkin awesome.

I have to say though that some of Bonos dance moves were a bit suspect. If Bono was not Bono then he probably would have looked like a tool. He did look like a tool but he's Bono and he pulled it off (Still threw my bra at him (Which reminds me of a story about a poor guy who's mom bought him a shirt with breast support at Hilton – what kind of cruel parent does that to their child at an all boys boarding school?)).

Fray

The edge as he went over us

So Winnipeg was great. Sorry for the initial bad reviews but we loved it.

Had another adventure with Gavin 2 weekends ago. Went South of the border to East Glacier National Park. We needed to go hand in a slip that we get every 6 months to make travel easier to the USA– means that we don't have to get finger printed, probed and questioned every time we cross the boarder (Damn you green passport).

Ate at the most amazing little diner. Felt like something out of a movie. Did part of the 'Highway to the Sun' road but could not go the full way because parts of Logan's pass are covered in 30 feet of snow. See this link - http://home.nps.gov/applications/glac/roadstatus/roadstatus.cfm - is pretty cool, you can watch as they clear the road (The red part is still covered in snow).

Glacier national park is much like waterton and is magnificent. We spent the day on mountain parks, hiked to a waterfall, saw some deer and enjoyed crisp, fresh air.

Along the mountains and roads a lot of snow was melting and there were hundreds of waterfalls. I'm not sure if I'm doing it justice so here are some pics.

Diner East Glacier

Wowzer

Crisp and clean

Trusted wife and car

Double wowzer

A big part of our lives this last bit was the Stanley cup. You know – that thing that happened before those riots. We have made friends with 2 Canadians from British Columbia – Steve and Jessica. They have a Vancouver shrine in their basement with all sorts of jerseys and memorabilia. They're the kind of supporters that change what they're wearing or might not invite you back if Vancouver loses.

We had a great time with them. Watched 4 games with them and unfortunately shared in their pain when Vancouver lost.

It's a great feeling to put on a jersey and feel accepted into a club. Can't wait for next season.

Even though I support a reasonably sized beer boep (still trying to birth it) I do not drink a lot and by the end of the Stanley cup my liver was shouting, “WhY!!! WHHHYYYYY? why?”. Poor guy we had a lot of fun and he took a fair amount of abuse.

So that almost brings me to the present. I'm sure that I'm missing out a bunch but I'm trying to make this an e-mail that you might want to read in less than 3 sittings.

This last weekend we watched dragon boat racing on Henderson lake. Also fun and next year Adele and I are going to enter a team, and win!

Getting ready for oar? for war? for paddle?

Pretty in pink - the day is for support of breast cancer

What's wrong with this picture

Seriously?!?

Good way to spend a day

On the Saturday I went fishing with 2 of the docs in our clinic, Dave and Terry. We gave Terrys new boat a spin. I did not get any pics but this is the most awesome fishing boat I have ever been in. What ever you might want in a fishing boat (should you want one), well, it has 2. Had a great day on Police lake. It was a bit windy and there was not much fish caught but the water was clear, the company was great and there was a wonderful chop and shimmer to the water with the rocky mountains as a backdrop. Every time I have a wow moment in this province it is super-ceded by another.

The Docs are also awesome. Have been very lucky with our clinic and they have all been amazing to us. Have been fishing a few times with these guys and they are always fun, informative and ignore those moments when I'm hooking myself or falling out of the boat.

So blogging done for a while. 2 days and we're on holiday. 3 days and it's Adele's birthday. 3 days and Spaz and Claire get here. 3 days and we have a week in the rockies. I'm getting so excited!!!! I can't wait for you to get here guys. Hope this week flies. Hope you love this country as much as we do.

Love to you all

Ryan

On a somber note I just wanted to send a shout out to one of the most interesting people that I have ever known and one of my favorite people of all time. Ritchie, it's 2 years since you left us this week and we miss you now as much as we ever have. There is still a giant hole that we would choose to never fill. Love you and hope that wherever you are you're laughing.