Something Fishy

Last weekend we got to have our first visitor of 2014--Charlie! He was doing a long business trip throughout Australasia and came through New Zealand for a few days. He flew in Thursday night and stayed at our apartment for the night. Friday, he and Drew both went into work for a little bit and then we checked out the 'A' in the harbor and then had lunch outside at Dos Amigos in Mission Bay. That afternoon we took a walk down to Kohimarama and then headed to the airport for the world's scariest flight (up until that point!)

  
We landed in Taupo and had a shuttle that took us to the Tongariro Lodge. We got there just in time to check in, get settled into our amazing house and then headed to the lodge for dinner.

The food was absolutely amazing--and I think we were all pleasantly surprised at the quality of the food considering it was a fisherman's lodge.



That night, we relaxed and watched TV before calling it an early night--the boys had a big day to prepare for the next day.


On Saturday, we all got up and had a yummy breakfast at the lodge and then Drew & Charlie headed out for their fishing adventures. They had a great time with their guide, Mark, and even managed to catch some fish! Charlie had some luck first and then Drew landed the catch of the day that the guide referred to as a 'bloody ripper.' I have no idea what that means, but apparently that's a great thing!
 
         




I relaxed at the house all day...spent some time outside...read my book...and had a 'Girls' marathon. The guys stopped at the store on the way home to get some snacks and beer and we all relaxed until it was time for another yummy dinner!

Then it was time for movie time and another early bedtime. We're crazy party animals, we know!

Sunday morning after breakfast, we all headed out with our guide, but the weather forecast wasn't looking to great. I got dressed up in waders just like the boys even though I didn't actually do any fishing. I got to take some great pictures of the guys, read my book some more, and soak up some beautiful New Zealand scenery.

We came back to the lodge to have lunch, shower, and watch movies as the storms came rolling in. Once they cleared up, we headed up to the main lodge for our final dinner.

On Monday, we had breakfast, packed up and then headed back to the airport. Then it was time to board our golf cart I mean plane. These planes are so tiny...only 19 seats and 2 pilots. The flight itself was only about 25 minutes but the landing was the scariest thing I've ever been through. It's slightly disconcerting that you can actually see out the cockpit windshields...not a good thing for me. At one point I could see the runway in front of us and then before I knew it, we were perpendicular to the runway. The wind was so crazy and the landing was rough, but we made it.

All in all, it was a great relaxing weekend and it's always great to spend time with family!

Now it's back to the real world, but at least Drew is on his third 4-day week and the summer weather has finally found us. (Sorry to all of you dealing with the crazy snow back east!)

Cheers,