I still love New Zealand, especially this Southland area of the South Island. But it's been unseasonably warm, with mild nights, and I keep getting told by the locals that we must have brought the good weather with us. So, I'm not sure I'd like to be here during a 'normal' season!
Early on Wednesday morning I was very surprised to receive a phone call from Ken Moir, who said he was just up the road from here at Dunedin. So I told him to head for Gore, and a few hours later he was here! WOW! It was fabulous to see him, and as he knows Trevor, Tarni and Brigitte, it was like 'old home week' here. We spent the rest of the day touring around in Trevors' old yellow Statesman, looking like real bogans!
There were six of us in the car, and we stopped for fish and chips at Riverton. Try ordering "six fish and chips" in New Zealand! Yes, it comes out like "sex fesh and cheps". Tooo funny.....
We visited some friends of Trevors who own a beautiful Scottish-style farmhouse not far from here. They bought it 10 years ago, and have spent the past 10 years renovating it and returning it to its former glory. What a big job! But the results are just stunning. And of course we all had to inspect the old stables and the carriage house... another fabulous experience.
All the locals have been very friendly and welcoming, and everyone who 'drops by' to see Trevor is very interested to hear where we've all come from and what we've been doing here.
It's a real league of nations here at the moment. Ken and his Scottish accent actually fit in really well too! The local Kiwis all say things like "wee" and so Ken sounded just like a local!
Tarni has ridden a couple of new horses, and is starting to get fitter now. Young Ingrid Miller (who lives in Invercargill but who just about lives here too) and Tarni have really hit it off, and are at this very moment doing a Karaoke thingy that is driving me a little nuts. But they are having tons of fun!
Ken left yesterday, but has sworn that he'll be back soon. He was very impressed by Trevor's horses, and really was disappointed that he couldn't stay and go to a ride here. But I think he's planning on returning in January (sorry, Kim, if you don't know about that yet!!!!).
Tonight we had home-grown Venison for dinner. Absolutely beautiful! Not as gamey as the Venison I've previously had, and soooo tender.
Too bad I've only got a couple of days to go!
Best regards
Jay Randle SPLENDACREST ENDURANCE TRAINING www.freewebs.com/splendacrest
