Waitangi Day Reflections

Whenever I get a guest or a visitor from overseas, they without fail will remark that every little thing about our country is beautiful. The way that we can walk a minute from our houses, stand on the crest of a rise and see out over the harbour to Rangitoto Island. The forests that line the roads, the farmlands, the beaches, the mountains. Everything. These things somehow become normal to us, the ones lucky enough to live here, and we find ourselves just being numb to it all. Waitangi Day should be a day when we remember how lucky we are to live in New Zealand, one of the most beautiful places in the world. To that end, here are some pictures of our scenic wonders to help us all remember, and be thankful.

Happy Waitangi Day everyone and enjoy your day off!

Lake Tekapo, South Island.

                                     

Milford Sound.

Mt Ruapehu and Mt Ngauruhoe by Craig Potton

Cathedral Cove, Coromandel.

Hot Water Beach, North Island.

Wellington City.

Auckland City.

NZ Native Kauri Forest

Wild Weather Hits Auckland

It's been a pretty crazy day at the office today as torrential rain and downpours hit Auckland City! We saw similar sights to this driving to work this morning; as waves smashed into the rocks and buffeted up at the side of our car:

Tamaki Drive is currently closed and many residents are without power. Traffic has deteriorated to the point where one of our admin staff has just joined us at 10:30am after leaving home at 8 on a journey that usually takes 30 minutes. We hope everyone out there drives safe and battens down the hatches.

Keep up to date at the NZ Herald website and try not to drive anywhere that's not absolutely crucial. Oh, and wish me luck getting home in a few hours!!  

New Zealand vs. England T20 Cricket, Eden Park

I had the privilege of seeing the first T20 at Eden Park on Saturday night as the Black Caps took on England. There was some incredible hitting on show, as you can see in this video. With this many balls being smacked into the crowd, who knew that cricket was something you should have life insurance before attending? Perhaps we should send our team of professional advisors to the next game in Hamilton on Tuesday night. :)