Christmas in July.. in August

An Australian winter wouldn't be complete without a blog post about Christmas in July. So, better late than never, here are some photos from today's 'Christmas in August' dinner!

Feeling rather overrun with children and pregnant bellies, we decided to keep things simple this year and instead of a weekend away, just hosting a Sunday night dinner locally. We each brought a course, and Tom and I hosted. It was easy and hassle free, which was just what I needed really in month seven of pregnancy!

Here are a few photos from the festivities:

New Zealand

We've been meaning to go to New Zealand for a long time, and despite it being the closest foreign land to Australia we had never quite made it. Our originally planned December 2011 trip was postponed to make way for our wedding  (and fair enough), and a second attempt to go in December 2012 never really got off the ground because another UK Christmas beckoned. It finally took the ticking clock of pregnancy to force us to book the flights, and attempt to see the country that promised such great beauty as a couple rather than with a family in tow.

We needed to time the trip around Bulldogs' games and my busy seasons, which pretty much only left a small window at the end of May. It would be cold and quick, but never mind - we were finally going to the South Island!

Our itinerary planned to take us whale watching, glow worm hunting, sound sailing and cable car riding. In the end the unpredictable weather and off-peak timing of our trip meant that we successfully watched, didn't hunt, just about sailed but failed to ride - respectively. Two and a half out of four isn't bad, right?!

Tom had been to NZ several years ago as a backpacker, but this was my first trip, and first impressions were spectacular. No where else have I seen crystal blue seas, green rolling foothills and snow capped mountains all in one breathtaking vista. It may have been cold, but it was beautifully clear, and there was a silver lining to everything that didn't go to plan..
- A cancelled 45 minute flight meant a seven hour drive, but along the way we saw spectacular mountain views to which no photograph can do justice.
- The long drive meant cancelling our glow worm trip and two nights in Te Anau, but the upshot was an extra two nights in our smart Queenstown hotel, The Rees, which was pure luxury!
- A day of solid snow in Queenstown meant we couldn't leave the hotel, but I've never been happier to snuggle up in the warm with room service and a DVD box set!

Queenstown in the snow

I was amazed at just how different NZ is to Australia for a country so close. Not just the landscape and climate, but the differences in the economy really took me by surprise. Prices in NZ supermarkets were considerably cheaper than Melbourne, but petrol prices were high - meaning NZ appeared to bear more similarities to the UK than to Australia, in my opinion.

We were well entertained getting familiar with Kiwi accents. Five years ago when living in the UK I would have struggled to tell the difference between an Aussie and a Kiwi. Now I can hardly find a similarity! Whilst on a day trip to see the whales, I was bemused to hear our bus driver announce we were visiting a 'silk colony'. I didn't realise NZ had silk worms, only glow worms. Anyway, turns out our destination was a 'seal colony'! If you think that was a case of baby brain on my part, try saying the words 'fashion shops' aloud... You've just ordered fish and chips in New Zealand!

It wasn't just the Kiwi accent that we seemed to struggle with, and it wasn't just me... Whilst eating in a smart restaurant to celebrate Tom's 30th, he asked the French waiter to explain one of the component parts of his main course. We just couldn't understand what type of ingredient 'sea-sam' was, so the waiter retreated to the kitchen to bring an example in its uncooked form. When we returned with a bowl of sesame seeds we were so embarrassed! It's obvious looking back...

We had a great time celebrating Toms big 3-0, and our Queenstown hotel was brilliant to upgrade us to a nicer room as a treat. They also left Tom a gift on the big day - some local fudge, only four months out of date! Hmmm...

Fergberger, a Queenstown institution

The highlight of our trip was to be a day trip to Milford Sound. Unfortunately it was jinxed from the get-go, with the road to Milford closed for maintenance during off season. Instead we joined what felt like every other tourist in the entire South Island to board a coach to Milfords big sister, Doubtful Sound. The tour company promised a taxi transfer to the bus, and thanks to some fellow passengers from our hotel who thought the 7am taxi call time was a good time to start breakfast, we were last to board. The only two remaining seats on the coach were right at the back - no recline, no leg room and the grumpiest Katie you've seen in a long time! Yes, I am that person that hates to be last on, to any mode of transport, and if it's someone else's fault, they will get tutted at low volume in my truest English way of displaying immense displeasure!

After the two-hour cramped coach ride, I queued for 20 minutes to collect our packed lunches, before we board an hour-long boat ride. Then we were packed onto what can only be described as a 1950s school bus to climb a treacherous mountain pass in heavy snow. We are truly in the middle of nowhere by this point, and I don't fancy getting stranded with the late-breakfasting family. Finally, we make it over the mountain pass and the beauty of Doubtful Sound awaits. Things start looking up when I'm early enough onto the boat to get a decent seat, but we quickly realise the hustle and bustle of 200 passengers is quite distracting from the outstanding natural beauty of the sound.

We also managed to sit behind possibly the most annoying man-with-Canon-dslr camera we have ever seen! He took literally thousands of images, many of exactly the same awful shot - the shutter went off every two seconds without fail.. and as we were behind him I could see every awful image displayed on the preview screen of his camera. Now I know I take a lot of photos, but this man will spend the rest of his life editing that day of shooting, and he didn't talk to his poor wife the entire time..

Where is the silver lining in all of this, you ask? Well, in amongst a 12.5 hour round trip, we had 90 seconds of tranquility, as the captain turned off the boats engines and asked everyone to be silent and take in the surroundings. It was heavenly, even if only for a moment.

 Doubtful Sound, doubtful weather conditions 

Amazing vistas, lots of sheep

If you get the chance to visit NZ, grab it with both hands. I was bowled over by the beauty of the South Island and can't wait to find a an opportunity to go to the North.. Perhaps a little trip for a young Baby Lister is on the cards!

Whale watching in Kaikoura and the SEAL colony

New Zealand preview

Last week we had a 7 day mini-tour of New Zealand's South Island.. it was a wintery wonderland delight :-) Here is a little preview:

Learning to be a leader..

Late last year I blogged about YLT (see here) - or Young Leadership Team to use it's full name - which is a leadership training program run by my workplace. Sound like corporate rubbish? Well, it couldn't be farther from the truth... YLT gives me and 40 of my peers the chance to take three days out of work, five times across a year-long period, to focus on our own personal development.

The speed of modern life rarely allows us time to stop and think about ourselves and those around us, to self-indulge, or to consider life's bigger questions like, 'who am I?', 'what do I want my legacy to be?' and 'what am I great at?'..

If I haven't lost you yet, then next time you're standing in the shower, queuing for coffee, or washing the dishes, allow yourself a few minutes to think about these questions. You might be amazed at what a little thinking time can do....

Here are a selection of images from the fourth of five conferences, firstly my group, called 'Orient', holding a discussion in the sunshine of the Yarra Valley:

Here is our room where we conduct most of the conference, either sitting in camp chairs (so comfy!) or sitting/lying on the floor (less comfy when you are pregnant and your jeans don't fit anymore!).

On the second night of the conference was a Eurovision themed dinner. We were each asked to dress up as a rock star, and we then proceeded to perform rock songs in groups with made up lyrics and dancing. It was a fantastically run event, and the costumes were incredible! I went as Baby Spice as part of a group of Melbourne girls who joined together to be the Spice Girls. After a while though, I must admit to feeling very sober amongst a room full of merriment!

 

We always close the conference with a fun session run by four of our participants. This time we all learnt a thriller dance with the help of a You Tube tutorial. It was hilarious and as you can see makes for some odd looking still images!

Autumn sun in the Yarra Valley

Baby Lister is on the way...

Tom and I are very excited to announce that Baby Lister is on the way! Due in late October, our first born will be an Australian citizen before we can claim passports ourselves. We are happy to be expanding our family from two to three, and look forward to the delights of parenthood.

Naturally this will provide significant blog content, so stay tuned for updates :-)

Come Dine With Me - the final...

So, the final round of Come Dine with Me had arrived - and it was our turn. 36 hours in advance we had no menu, no shopping, an untidy flat, and I had a weekend of work ahead of me. It felt like we had a mountain to climb, but luckily for me, when it comes to dinner parties, Tom is an Olympic champion climber!

Our theme for the dinner was 'A road trip around Britain' - with each course featuring a dish from a different part of the British Isles. To kick off and set the 'road trip' theme, we served a 'lunch box' for our starter. Here is the full menu:

We opened the evening with a champagne toast.. under the guise of it being the final of our four rounds of Come Dine With Me and that being a good reason to have a toast. After a clink of glasses we revealed a second toast however - and announced to our Australian friends that we are expecting a baby! There were many congratulations, lots of male back-slapping, and a sprinkling of tears - Tom and I were totally surprised by the reaction and it was really heartwarming.

Next it was over to the table and on to the starter - a packed lunch box featuring homemade scotch egg, tomato chutney, dressed rocket and a wedge of homemade bread. Tom had made the scotch egg and chutney, and my contribution was the bread. It all went down well and several people had seconds of the scotch egg!

For the main course, we (well, lets face it, Tom) served beef wellington with roast potatoes and vegetables... plus - gravy in an individual gravy boat. Oooooh, fancy! The wellington was a high risk strategy, because you never know if on the inside it's going to be overdone or red raw.. Luckily, it turned out just perfect, and was gobbled up in no time.

Finally for pud, I served my usual contribution to a dinner party - pavlova! I named it 'reconstructed Eton Mess' however, because I didn't think pavlova was very British, but Eton Mess certainly is! I also had an attempt at a union jack in berries, although with hindsight I could have made a better job of this... nonetheless, it all got eaten up!

 

With the food consumed, it was time for our friends to record their thoughts on video. After that, we watched back the comments from the previous three dinners - much hilarity ensued, and scores were tight!! Finally we watched the scores for our dinner and with a couple of tens we took home the win! As the only couple not hindered with children or a late-stage pregnancy, we perhaps had an advantage... and after announcing our baby news our friends were quick suggest a repeat competition when we have a newborn, just to throw a complication into the mix!

It topped off a wonderful evening of sharing good news, good food and fun times with our Aussie friends. Here's to the next CDWM competition.. coming your way sometime in.. erm... several years time!