Kia Ora

Well folks my blogs are like buses at the minute there are none for ages and then you get 2 in quick succession!!!

For those of you that don't know it has been a long weekend here and we are just enjoying our Monday off,and believe it or not the weather has been good too...

Since I last posted we have had an eventful week. Mel has been busy sorting out all our new bills for the new rental property, which we signed off on at the weekend so check your inbox for our new details. Mel also has her date through for her interview so it is all happening at the minute.

England beat France in the rugby (not too convincingly,I might add) and the Kiwis let the Aussies back in at the last moment.

After finishing work on Friday we knew the weekend would be fun. After sorting out some paperwork in town Saturday morning we set off towards Hamilton to attend our first ever Hangi. You dig 2 holes in the ground and heat up rocks for several hours then you transfer the rocks to the second pit place your baskets of food on top,cover it with hessian sacks soaked in water and then cover the whole lot in soil. It is then just a waiting process (around 5-6 hours) before you uncover all the food and eat it.

It was our first Hangi and it was in a beautiful setting on the farm we sat outside the house and were surrounded by rolling green hills with sheep and cows dotted around on the hillside. It was such a hot day and we kept on top of the sunscreen while enjoying a few drinks and chatting. Always with one eye on the Hangi,the food sat cooking all afternoon and by 6 o' clock it was time to remove the soil and sacks to see if it was ready. This part is crucial as you have to try and keep the soil from getting onto the food.Also if you remove the soil and no steam emerges the saying goes head to the "Fish and Chip shop as it won't be cooked!!"

Luckily for us we had experts on the job and after carefully scraping back the soil and removing the sacks there was a delicious feast ready for us. It consisted of Pork,mutton,lamb plus potatoes,kumara pumpkin and cabbage all with a smoky flavour. everyone gathered around and tucked into the feast in what can only be described as a perfect setting. We have to say a big thanks to Kerry and Nicole for inviting us and also Gloria and Roger for looking after us so well and hosting a great day and also for letting us stay over in the summer house.

Next morning all you could hear were the cows and I got up at 6.30am and was treated to a great view of the mist hanging low across the paddock and the cows looking at me curiously from the other side of the garden fence. It was a great experiance and we thoroughly enjoyed it,after morning coffee we had to head back to the city.

Unfortunately we have no photos as our camera that we took went faulty but we will post some as soon as we can so you can see what it's all about. Right we are off to enjoy the rest of our Monday off work and will catch up with you all soon as I am sure the blogs will be coming back now the Summer is nearly here. We will speak to you all from our new house :)

Lots of Love

M & M

xx