Al and his motorbike excursion

Al and our friend Steve have talked for 2 years about going on a road trip to the West Coast.

Steve goes out on his motorbike every weekend and Al being busy with motor racing just never seemed to be able to commit to a date. I told them at Christmas that they were going on the last weekend of February!
























They set off at 9am on the Saturday and stopped at Greymouth for lunch, and then at Punakaiki to see the pancake rocks.


















They stopped for the night at Line and Ged's holiday home at Westport - the 100 year old "Romily Chateau" as we call it.


































They unloaded and headed up the coast to Karamea and then back to Westport for a meal out and a good night's sleep.

















The next day they headed off nice and early and stopped at Murchison for breakfast then on to Hope in Nelson to have lunch with Line and Ged, then back to Christchurch via the East Coast. They travelled 1236 kms (773 miles) in the 2 days.

South Island map

Al and Toby head to Sydney to watch V8 Supercars!

Remember in August we gave Toby a booklet that revealed to him that he was going to Sydney with Al in December to watch the V8 Supercars? Well here they are in Sydney. It was Al's birthday present too.
Sydney Harbour Bridge
















Sydney Opera House
































The harbour bridge and Opera house from the other side of the harbour
































The Centrepoint Tower























Eco Cab!
















Dinner at China Town! I'm sure they must have ordered for more than just 2!
































Toby competing on a race car simulator at the track. For most of the day he was fastest time then got pipped at the post at the end.







































Breakfast at the track. Wearing the new shirt he bought himself.
















Another race car simulator!
















Toby outside the ANZ Stadium at Olympic Park in Homebush. This is where the Olympic games were held in ??? The V8's raced around the streets of Olympic Park over the 3 days. On one of the evenings there was a live concert they went to watch at this stadium. Cold Chisel a band of the 80's and other bands played. They loved it!
















Inside the stadium.































The action right in front of them


















In the pits
















Flying home Air NZ and playing yet another game!

Tropical Party

Tonight we headed over to Jann and Steves for a sundown cocktail dinner party.






















Yip, dressup again! Compulsory Hawaiian shirt and lei.






















The cocktails were just magnificent, but were more like smoothies, all blended up in the blender with just about more fruit than tequila. (yeah right!)






















We had a great dinner, great company and danced away to the music of Rod Stewart. What a blast!

Christchurch's new Air Traffic Control Tower

Christchurch Airport is undergoing some major redevelopment.

















The new Air Traffic Control Tower has just been completed and is operational as of today.

"New Zealand's newest control tower has been officially opened in Christchurch. The $6 million project is the first to be completed as part of a new airport expansion set to be ready for the thousands expected for the Rugby World Cup in 2011. At 13 stories high, it has become the tallest air traffic control tower in the country. It's shaped like an icecream cone with a base of around 64 square metres, tapering to a 12 metre control cab at the top." - TVNZ Home Page.

At the weekend they had a ticket only open day to visit. Al bought a ticket online and ventured out there for his tour.

















Complete with all the latest high-tech gadgets, the controllers easily have the best view of any job in Christchurch!
Looking west out over the runways


































Looking East out over Christchurch. Wow!