Thank you to the 5 friends who left such interesting and useful comments on my previous post. I know it is a controversial topic and everyone's situation is different. It seems quite a few folk are giving it thought and that's where change will start. Small and tiny but a start. So Valeri, Anne, Molly, Vinda and Lynda good on you....keep at it! I am so glad to meet you for the first time Lynda (granny k).
Now to completely fly in the face of all that tomorrow DH and I fly South on holiday. For us this is quite a big deal as it doesn't happen often. In fact you could count on your fingers the number of holidays we have had in the last 29 years, since we have owned an orchard. Usually we think we are lucky to go away for a weekend. This time 2 years ago we went to Sydney area for a week and that was the only time either of us has been out of our own country. Folk keep asking us when we are going to UK ( our younger son lives there ) and that we must go while our son is there. Then they usually say you couldn't think of going for less than 6 weeks. So of course that doesn't happen. Strange how friends have such opinions about what we should or should not do!...........Anyway I usually reply we haven't seen all of New Zealand yet; we have to do that first. And that is what we hope to get done this holiday!
The Kiwifruit is picked and we have some slack time before Winter pruning, all we needed was someone to feed the cat, watch and clear the big drain that blocks, collect the mail and do a security check. All our neighbours are away or are new to the area - so that was posing a problem.
One night last week we were out to dinner with friends celebrating their Anniversary and they volunteered. They live a little way away but said they would be happy to do it for us. We double checked they really meant it and then got on the computer and began checking things out. So we are off tomorrow. Flying from Tauranga to Dunedin, where we have the first 3 nights booked in the city and tickets for the Taieri Gorge railway. On the 4th day we pick up our rental car and follow our noses, stopping when are where we fancy. Neither of us has been this far South before so there is plenty to see and do. Lucky us. [ if fuel supplies in the world are going to run out I have some travel catching up to do before it does!]
Therefore dear blog friends I might be a little bit absent from the comments section of your blogs till I return! Yes of course the camera is going with me and the battery charger and spare cards and most important some warm, warm clothes.