Aviemore
We all went up to Aviemore for a week in June, to stay at Doug and Pat's timeshare at Coylumbridge as we do most years. This year was a bit special, though - we hadn't gone last year, and this year may be our last since Aidan will be at school this time next year.
On
Monday morning all six of us went for walk to an unnamed lochan about 45min stroll from the lodge. It was a good gentle introduction. The kids both mostly enjoyed their first walk through the bush for quite a while, and looked quite smart in their hiking gear. In the afternoon Aidan enjoyed the play park, and we enjoyed remembering how little he was last time we were here. In the evening (after bedtime)
Megan got up and went on her first bunny-hunt with Grandma.
The four
of us went to the Landmark Centre on
Tuesday. The kids weren't that excited by the play equipment, so we did stuff instead. The best was the Red Squirrel Trail, a raised treewalk through the forest, explaining all about the history, flora, fauna, and future of the forest. We didn't see any squirrels, but the kids were fascinated and we did learn the difference
between cowberry and blaeberry.
Later we went on the water slides: the Otter is twisty and dark, the Wildcat has a bump in the middle, and the Falcon is pretty much straight down - weightless and fast. We took both kids up, two or three to a boat. Both kids loved it - Aidan was excited about being weightless on the Falcon like the astronauts and Megan was just generally excited. Neither of them was scared at all, and they both wanted to go again and again.
Then we went to the Inshriach Nursery. They still had some yummy cake left even though it was quite late in the day, and the birds were out in force behind the tearooms - as were the red squirrels! Megan loved stroking the resident cat.
After all that we decided to have a quiet day on
Wednesday.
On
Thursday
the kids went on their first ever hillwalk - a two mile long, 225m descent (NN998074 to NN981095) through the arctic tundra of Cairngorm National Park. Both kids were fantastic - especially Megan, who was a complete trooper and stormed through everything. Aidan did well too, but when he got hungry he kept falling over. Remarkably, the kids were harder to keep moving on the formed path than they were pushing through the swampy heather.
At the beginning of the walk we were all
having second thoughts - neither Aidan nor Megan seemed very keen, and Megan seemed very little to be embarking on such an expedition. But the whinging stopped very rapidly once we got moving (just like it used to for me when I was little!), and they both did so well! We appreciated our new poles too.
In the evening Carolyn and I had dinner on our own, and then went for a drive. We found ourselves at Loch Garten. I never will get used to the evening light at such a high latitude - it's lovely.
Friday 
was our chance to get away on our own. We originally intended to bag our first Munro together, but it snowed the night before and we weren't prepared for walking above the snowline. Instead, the ranger recommended an excellent route through the Corries and part of the Lairig Ghru.
We had a lovely day, with amazing scenery and lots of variation - at least until we got to the formed paths in the Rothiemurchus estate. And we had it to ourselves: we only passed four other groups all day. I was impressed by how "alive" the mountains are - at first glance it looks pretty desert-like, with not much beyond heather. But in fact there's a wider range of flora than that, and we also saw a few tiny tiny birds flitting around - so there must be a good range of insects to support such an energetic bird! We finished up in a great little Greek Cypriot cafe opposite the visitor's centre with a well-deserved cup of tea and pastry.
The kids had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa at the Highland Wildlife Centre and Highland Folk Museum.
Saturday was our last full day. The boys went on a distillery tour, and showed Aidan how whiskey is made. Glenfiddich welcomed him (unlike Macallan, with a minimum age of 8), and he was as fascinated by the process as we'd guessed he would be. He was particularly struck by the fact that they make a beer first, and then distill that into whiskey. The girls went to a garden centre.
On
Sunday we headed back south, tired but happy. On the way we stopped off at The Hermitage, Dunkeld, and walked to Ossian's Hall (stunningly, right above a waterfall) and Ossian's Cave (lovely echoes of "We're Going On A Bear Hunt!"). The kids had a good time - lots of Megan dawdling, and Aidan going back to hold her hand and encourage her on - cute! Then lunch at Palmerston's, Dunkeld; then home and picnic pizza dinner on the lawn.
Echoes
...a weekend's holiday in Gullane, North Berwick. East Lothian is stunning, and I had no idea it was even there.Friday morning, McArthur Glen: Aidan delights in the echoes his shouting makes in the empty carpark, while Carolyn and Megan wait for us in the lift lobby. For me, our holiday was full of happy echoes.
As I buy some HiTech trainers to rest my tired feet, I remember wearing HiTech shoes, and even a HiTech sweatshirt, at school. Uncool - weren't they were associated mainly with netball? But I recall the sweatshirt at least was because they sponsored my IMO team.
The sun rising red over misty fields beyond our farmhouse B&B reminds me of an early-morning Shin-kan-sen ride in 2001 with
Peter, heading back to Tokyo after a Sendai conference past Ukiyo-e valleys of mist and temples, and the reddest sun I'd ever seen. Truly the land of the rising sun - yet an echo here in East Lothian.
Gullane has a konditorei!! Flashbacks to Form 4 German class with Herr Glenny. For the last class of each term Herr Glenny would order proper German cakes from the Konditorei Telle in Mount Eden, and we'd practice our German ordering skills and eat delicious cake - of course my main memory is of the famous Schwartzwälder Kirschtorte, but I'm sure we had others as well. My spoken German has mostly left me, sadly, so in Gullane I ordered in English. No Schwartzwälder Kirschtorte(!) - instead some very interesting alternatives. I had a Linzertorte, apparently one of the very first cake recipes ever, a delicious jammy crumble of a cake. As well they had bread - real bread, served to you by the baker himself! I bought a few loaves, and was impressed by his passion and knowledge:
this one is about 10% rye, it's a sourdough but we use yeast as well so it's not a sharp sourdough, this one is good for toast, this is my favourite. And when we got them home and ate them they were as delicious as he'd promised. Recommended.
The town shows the definite influence of Edinburgh. Delis and stylish cafés, the artisan baker, genteel inhabitants and occupations. The countryside of rolling green hills and mist, haystacks and ruined castles could be many parts of Britain.
Walking along the white-sand ocean beach beneath the towering dunes recalls Castlecliff and walks with Uncle David, and a family picnic in the scrub behind with my cousins.
North Berwick has a remarkable and surprisingly tall conical hill behind it (North Berwick Law, 187m). I have no idea of the geology - I'd love to find out - but in my mind it resembled "the Mount" - Mount Maunganui in one of the surfing centres of New Zealand, Tauranga.
A drive past the marina at North Berwick after dark - like Half Moon Bay in summer on those evening drives with my dad, after our picnic dinners with soup and bacon and egg pie and carrots and juice.
From the farmhouse, Orion: the first constellation I ever knew, and one that's visible in both southern and northern hemispheres. It's also Carolyn and my special constellation - we're always happy when we see it. It was lovely and dark without the fires of Grangemouth, and the moment we stepped out of the door it was there hanging in front of us. Beautiful.
At breakfast downstairs, the kids run circuits around and around and around the table, giggling and chasing each other (and not eating). Playing under the table reminds me of an embarrassing visit to one of my Dad's friends in Australia when I was a kid. I got bored of the grown-ups conversation and crawled around under the table in intentionally juvenile fashion, saying "I'm Karen, I'm Karen" (name changed to protect the innocent), pretending to be the friend's baby daughter. Only problem was, I got the name muddled - and used my Dad's friend's name instead! Oops. These kids have nothing to be embarrassed about - they're enjoying the space and freedom.
Aidan is sometimes scared to try things. Thoughts of St Johns Cadets Camp at Peter Snell holiday camp on Whangaparaoa Peninsula. The flying fox which I was terrified even to go up to, but the others forced me to go on and I did and it was wonderful! Aidan will learn this too - I hope I can help him.
We end the adventure with a trip to Ratho Park adventure centre (
EICA) - an adventure itself, although at this visit just for the eyes (we'll return another day to climb, but the kids played in the soft play). Last time I climbed was at The Castle in North London, with David, Gavin, and the rest of my DC team at the time.
Then home, refreshed, to the familiar.
Labels: holiday
Smoke and mirrors
Entertaining and slightly terrifying job this evening.
Victim: our main built-in fridge/freezer, a Candy CIC 320 LE UK.
Symptoms: no light when opening the door, frost layer 1cm thick on back wall of fridge, and later (read on!) smoke and arcing from the fast-freeze on/off switch.
I confirmed a week ago that the lightbulb had blown. Today managed to get to Maplin to purchase a replacement (15W SES incandescent - are they
really going to ban incandescents in the UK?). Figured I'd fit it quickly and get on with my evening - how wrong I was! Put it in, and got nothing. Checked the bulb visually - looked fine. Got out the meter - all fine. Got out the torch and mirror and examined the socket - hmm, can't easily see where the earth contact is, but no obvious damage.
The bulb screws into a unit attached to the wall of the fridge which also contains the fridge temperature control. How do I get it off? There's a single screw securing it in the middle, but there are also two lugs at the front and something similar at the rear. For the life of me I couldn't figure it out (and still can't - anyone who knows how please let me know!). So that was a dead end.
While I was there I noticed the frost, and decided to defrost the fridge. Funny how one job segues so seductively into another. Did that (clear fridge, put bowl of hot water in, close the door, wait, scrape gently). I guess the problem was air flow near the thermostat probe - it's at the middle of the back of the fridge, and I'm guessing it was obstructed by an ill-positioned food item. And above it the cool air flow down the back was obstructed by a bag of coffee - moral: don't let anything touch the back of the fridge!
Turned it back on, and FIZZZ...., plus a distinct curl of grey smoke emanates from the fast-freeze switch! On this model the control switches are on the front strip between the fridge and freezer. I dive for the wall switch. Hmm. Bad design - defrosting water has run out of the fridge compartment and into the switch assembly. I dry around the controls, wait a while, and try again. This time it hums for a minute or so, and then the breaker trips. When I was a kid we had big porcelain fuses and fuse wire - I'm always grateful for breakers! With the wall switch and the breaker off, I prise off the switch bezel and pull out the switch assembly. This is what I see!
We won't be using fast freeze on
this fridge again. Wet carbonised plastic is a pretty good conductor. I pull off the connectors (the circuit diagram suggests the black one becomes live too when the thermostat turns on the compressor), and the switch terminals come off with them. Removing them and throwing them away, I wrap the already-insulated connectors with red insulation tape for good measure, and tie them together so they don't get lost (in the unlikely event I ever want them again!). Back it all goes. As I reassemble, I see what was intended to be the seal - it's yellow and stiff with age. Surely that's one component you shouldn't spec at the same five years as the rest?
Now we have a safe and operating fridge, it's back to problem #1. Close observation reveals this:
And that's it - a quick file down of the solder blob contact, and we're in business: with a light that works, a defrosted fridge, the faint odour of smoke slowly dissipating, and the thermostat clearance re-established.
NOTE: In case you're wondering, we're retargeting this blog (hence the slight name change). Our NZ trip was last year, but that's no reason for us not to keep a blog! We'll use tags so you know what each post is about. Enjoy.Labels: repair
Not in chronological order
As we mentioned earlier, broadband internet access was surprisingly rare in New Zealand. This, along with a busy schedule and the energy demands of taking two small children on holiday, meant we had to prioritise actually having our antipodean experiences over writing about them.
Sorry.
Now we're all back safe and sound, we're writing them up as follows:
- The chronological account is (will be) on the children's blog.
- Vignettes, thoughts, and out-takes will appear on this, our own blog, in serendipitous order.
We hope you enjoy both sources equally.
Labels: nz2007
Waimangu Valley
The town of
Rotorua (
"Roto-Vegas" to the locals) is situated near the middle of the North Island, in an area where the Earth's crust is very thin. It's famous for geysers, boiling mud, strikingly coloured mineral deposits, mineral health spas, hydrogen sulphide fumes, and the chance that the footpath in front of you might suddenly cave in and become a steaming pit (this really does happen sometimes!).
One of my favourite attractions in the Rotorua area is
Waimangu Valley. This is a valley filled with native bush, lying under the shadow of
Mount Tarawera. Tarawera
erupted violently one night in 1886, raining ash, fire, and sulphur for miles around, burying an entire village, killing over 100 people, and shattering the famous
Pink and White Terraces ("8th wonder of the world") into a million pieces. The great gash in the mountain from which the four columns of fire emanated is visible in the top left corner of this picture.
The Pink and White Terraces are no longer there, but the area is still full of steam, geysers, terraces, and history. You take an hour's walk from the car park through the bush, passing the sites and emerging on the shores of Lake Rotomahana. You catch the boat to see where the terraces lay and to observe the brooding lake and mountain. Finally you return, and take a coach ride back up the hill (optional).
With the children in tow we only did a portion this time. Here is Echo Crater / Frying Pan Lake, a lake of boiling acid water overlooked by the sulphurous Cathedral Rocks. Around the lake are signs to take care and not stray from the path, and the occasional white cross to mark the deaths of tourists who disregarded the warning and were caught by an unexpected geyser. Everywhere are silica deposits forming miniature copies of the Pink and White Terraces - shallow circular basins, nested and staggered like lace or petals. Most were white when we visited - the colours change as the minerals accessible to the hot water are dissolved away - but there was an overlay of yellow sulphur and the green of the warm acid-loving algae.
Beyond the lake was a staircase beside a natural overflow channel. Climbing the staircase leads to Inferno Crater Lake, a brilliantly blue-hued lake fed by a hidden geyser. The lake level oscillates in a complex pattern over a six-week period, and in the middle of the cycle it overflows down the channel into the stream below. The striking blue colour is only visible at certain points in this oscillation, so we were lucky to see it so beautiful - I've seen it once when it was a simple flat grey. The lake is 30 metres deep, the overflow water discharges at around 80degC, and the water pH is sometimes as low as 2.1 - so it was not unreasonable of Aidan to be a little scared of it!
We next followed a stream, kept at around 50degC by water from the Frying Pan Lake and other sources. It was filled with blue-green algae and other plants enjoying the warmth and mineral content, and dotted regularly with miniature geysers playing to a height of 20cm or so. Further down (beyond the point we reached with the children) this passes some silica stalactites, the Marble Terrace, the Warbrick Terrace, Rainbow Crater, and runs on down to Lake Rotomahana. We will return here some other time to complete the journey.
That night we stayed in a
beautiful lodge just out of Rotorua, on a lake (nearly) of our own. The following morning we headed for the
Polynesian Spa, the biggest and best natural mineral baths in Rotorua. We and the kids both loved it, and the water is wonderful for the skin. The keener visitor can also try the thermal mud treatments; we skipped them on this occasion. We chased this with a fabulous lunch at the fabulously quirky and always reliable
Fat Dog Cafe.
Labels: nz2007
Megan-in-a-cot
[post written 15 April - it's surprisingly hard to find broadband connections in NZ!]or, more to the point, Megan-out-of-the-cot... yes, Megan has learned how to climb out of her travel cot. She acquired this technique at 0445 yesterday morning, when I was greeted by her walking towards me as I went in to her room.
This morning, in an echo of her Uncle Jonathan (Grandma used to waken in the night to find him standing beside her bed), Megan appeared beside our bed...
Auckland has a yearly inorganic collection where, in the two weeks prior to the collection, everyone puts whatever they are getting rid of out on the street and it is then available for anyone else who wants it, before what is left is taken away. It is the turn of Uncle Martin and Aunty Heather's area at the moment and, on hearing a description of our new jack-in-the-box, Uncle Martin offered to go and get us some chicken wire that a neighbour was throwing out. It's tempting, very very tempting...
However, before going to such radical lengths, we are currently employing the well-known, tried-and-tested Pick-Up and Plonk technique. This involves picking up said small girl, and plonking her back in her cot with a firm "No", and "You're not allowed up until 7am". Seventeen turns later and the chicken wire is definitely becoming a more appealing option...
In other news, we've had a busy few days. The weather hasn't been too great, so we've been looking for indoor activities. On Thursday, we took the children to the Auckland War Memorial Museum, which has several
interactive sections specifically designed for children - from natural history-type things, to treehouses, to musical instruments. Megan loved playing the huge glockenspiel, and Aidan assembled a cow and played with "fossils".
On Friday, we went to
MOTAT which is a semi-indoors science and engineering museum, built around the old Pumphouse which housed the old water wheel which used to provide water for Auckland many years ago. It also has a super interactive area, which entertained both children (and us as well!). There was a shadow wall which Megan loved, and a build-your-own arch bridge which Aidan had lots of fun with.
Yesterday we finally made it to
Muriwai. Muriwai is the northernmost of the West Coast beaches located in the Waitakere Ranges just north of Auckland. It was a very windy day, and Aidan was fascinated by the quantities of foam blowing in from the sea across the beach - the jury's still out on the origin of the foam, but Aidan had lots of fun playing in it! Muriwai is also home to a large gannet colony - we climbed up the cliff (on a board walk) and were able to view it from above.
Later today we're setting off on our tour of the North Island. First stop is Wanganui...
PS there hasn't been a moment to get any photos up, but we should have some time in Wanganui, and we'll get them up soon after.
[Sadly we didn't have time or an Internet connection... but do stay tuned!]Labels: nz2007
We're here! Stepping out of the car at my parents' place felt like
stepping into a tropical rainforest - everything was so green and
moist and colourful.
We've had a lovely couple of days so far in Auckland. On our first
day we went to Mission Bay, and Aidan played with seaweed on the beach
and made a nest for some pigeons. Megan chased the pigeons and walked
along the sea wall, and the rest of us chatted.
Nan and Grandad are keen to play lots with the kids, so today was
similar - we went to climb some trees in Cornwall Park, a big park
gifted to the city by one of the founders of Auckland. The history
wasn't so important to the kids, but the gnarly trees and rock walls
were a big draw. The fine icecreams went down pretty well too.
Auckland is very sunny, but it didn't betray its reputation for sudden
change. Yesterday on the motorway it went from brilliant sunshine to
six inches (150mm) of water in less than five minutes! It slowly
returned to its previous condition, but not before causing at least
one accident just before rush hour.
Tomorrow we'll go to Muriwai, a wild ocean beach in the Waitakere
Ranges near where The Piano was filmed. Rock scrambling, gannets,
geology, and a picnic should keep us all well occupied.
Labels: nz2007
We all went up to Aviemore for a week in June, to stay at Doug and Pat's timeshare at Coylumbridge as we do most years. This year was a bit special, though - we hadn't gone last year, and this year may be our last since Aidan will be at school this time next year.
of us went to the Landmark Centre on Tuesday. The kids weren't that excited by the play equipment, so we did stuff instead. The best was the Red Squirrel Trail, a raised treewalk through the forest, explaining all about the history, flora, fauna, and future of the forest. We didn't see any squirrels, but the kids were fascinated and we did learn the difference 
between cowberry and blaeberry.
the kids went on their first ever hillwalk - a two mile long, 225m descent (NN998074 to NN981095) through the arctic tundra of Cairngorm National Park. Both kids were fantastic - especially Megan, who was a complete trooper and stormed through everything. Aidan did well too, but when he got hungry he kept falling over. Remarkably, the kids were harder to keep moving on the formed path than they were pushing through the swampy heather.
having second thoughts - neither Aidan nor Megan seemed very keen, and Megan seemed very little to be embarking on such an expedition. But the whinging stopped very rapidly once we got moving (just like it used to for me when I was little!), and they both did so well! We appreciated our new poles too.
was our chance to get away on our own. We originally intended to bag our first Munro together, but it snowed the night before and we weren't prepared for walking above the snowline. Instead, the ranger recommended an excellent route through the Corries and part of the Lairig Ghru. 
We had a lovely day, with amazing scenery and lots of variation - at least until we got to the formed paths in the Rothiemurchus estate. And we had it to ourselves: we only passed four other groups all day. I was impressed by how "alive" the mountains are - at first glance it looks pretty desert-like, with not much beyond heather. But in fact there's a wider range of flora than that, and we also saw a few tiny tiny birds flitting around - so there must be a good range of insects to support such an energetic bird! We finished up in a great little Greek Cypriot cafe opposite the visitor's centre with a well-deserved cup of tea and pastry.
The kids had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa at the Highland Wildlife Centre and Highland Folk Museum.
On Sunday we headed back south, tired but happy. On the way we stopped off at The Hermitage, Dunkeld, and walked to Ossian's Hall (stunningly, right above a waterfall) and Ossian's Cave (lovely echoes of "We're Going On A Bear Hunt!"). The kids had a good time - lots of Megan dawdling, and Aidan going back to hold her hand and encourage her on - cute! Then lunch at Palmerston's, Dunkeld; then home and picnic pizza dinner on the lawn.
