Kia Ora,

We both had some time off work at the start of the month to show Dave & Ann around our part of the country.

	The first stop in their tour of the Waikato was the Glowworm caves at Waitomo.
As they had been doing a lot of traveling we had an easy day and took them to Hamilton Gardens.
They also spent a day helping us in the garden. Hmmm - I think Ann's driving skills need some work.
The girls loved having Ann and Dave visit - so much extra attention!
	Maxie with her new BFF
The one place they really wanted to see was somewhere we hadn't been before - the Hobbiton film set near Matamata.
The Green Dragon - specially brewed ales, ginger beer and cider.
No visit to NZ is complete without a trip to the geyser and mud pools of Rotorua.
The last day out we had was to Raglan and Bridal Veil Falls.

We've had to clear a space in the sleepout for Ann to bring all her school stuff home (again) as she's moving class next January (also again).

Peter's had to go up on the roof (again) to cover the chimney up with plastic this time - we had three birds fall down the chimney in 4 days! We just have to remember to remove the plastic before lighting the fire next winter.

We also think we've got birds nesting the the roof space. There's a pair of sparrows that we've seen flying to and from one particular part of the roof, they stop on the guttering then disappear only to re-emerge a few minutes later.

We've also seen quail walking around the garden, and our Japanese Raisin tree has tui in it. Tui are wonderful native birds that will visit gardens with lots of nectar growing plants.

On the 26th we said farewell to Jaz - she had a seizure and collapsed and the vets could do nothing for her. We'll miss our loving 'Special Needs' dog very much.

News from Home

Fred had a great time on holiday in the Lake District with David, Carol and friends - both human and furry.