Larent, Pablo, Sophie, Julie, MelissaI first met Julie last year via her blog southpacificsojourn. Seán and I were heading to New Caledonia for a holiday and on discovering Julie's blog, I asked her a few questions about what to expect in her Pacific wonderland. Once in Noumea we met up with Julie; husband Laurent, baby Pablo and daughter Sophie. We lunched (tuna steak :-)) on their balcony – feasting our eyes on this beautiful view.
Six months later they arrive, along with friend Melissa from LA, for 7 days in New Zealand. Dunedin was their last stop before flying home to the tropics. I think they may have underestimated how far south we really are down here, and were taken back with the chilly weather.
We picked them up from the airport about 10.30am and whisked them home for some lunch. Pablo had a nap, Julie relaxed with me (and a roaring fire), while Seán, Jack, Sophie, Laurent and Melissa went on a Cadbury chocolate factory tour and hit some shops for those last minute souvenirs.
We then zoomed around the Otago peninsula - our favourite playground. Unfortunately we were in the middle of a cold snap, so beach walks, penguin and seal spotting were all off the menu. We ended up at Tairoa head – the only mainland albatross breeding area in the world. The wind was howling,
(along with Pablo who has never experienced cold before!) but no albatross were flying. They have a nifty web cam link to a chick that hatched this year. Not much happens, but I keep looking hoping to spot the parents feeding it.Back home for lamb chops, roast potatoes, etc, and then Seán took them all down to his museum for one of his special ‘behind the scenes’ tours. I stayed home and babysat a sleeping Pablo. Dessert/supper (including New Zealand’s iconic Pavlova) was served when they got home from the museum. A bit more of a chat and then everyone headed to bed.
They had three flights today to get them back to their wee slice of paradise. Laurent was apparently planning to be up at 5am tomorrow to go for a run!
It was lovely to have them here – my third ‘blogger’ friend to stay in our house! Just a shame the weather didn’t cooperate with our plans.
Delicious Pablo
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