Black bear in the wildGrizzly bear taken from our bus window
.
Wednesday, 13 August 2014
Whale taken from the balcony outside our room in the ship.
Orca next to our ship
Paddling past an iceberg
At the Mendenhall Glacier
Cruising in Glacier Bay
The Marjorie Glacier
The Johns Hopkins Glacier
With a musher and his dogs
Black bear in the wild
Wild black bear cubs
Bald eagles perched on a rooftop in Ketchikan
Black bear in the wild
Whales and orcas and bears....oh my!
We have had the most amazing week in Alaska. From our cruise ship we have seen grey whales, humpback whales, orcas and dolphins. We have paddled past icebergs to the face of the mighty Mendenhall Glacier. We have taken a ride with a musher as he trained his sled dogs for winter racing and we have taken a boat up the Chilkut River in search of the elusive moose. We have cruised through the mist in Glacier Bay, watching the Marjorie Glacier as it calved great chunks of ice into the sea next to us. We have seen grizzly bears and black bears and their cubs in the wild. We have seen bald eagles and their amazing nests perched in trees and on rooftops. Tomorrow our adventure ends at the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park in near Vancouver, then we start our long journey home tomorrow night.
Wednesday, 6 August 2014
The Big Apple
We had one very full day in New York City. We were travelling with Tanya and Nikau, my dad and my niece and her husband and their two children aged 7 months and 3 years. We had buggies and backpacks galore but that didn't deter us from seeing the sights.
First stop was the Empire State Building where the security queues were horrendous! Finally we reached the observation deck where we admired the 360 degree views of New York City. From there we braved the subway system to get downtown to the ferry out to Liberty Island. I think the New York subway system has to be one of the least user friendly subways in the world. We got on a train heading for our destination, then at one stop we had to get off the train with babies, buggies and backpacks, race up to the first five carriages just to go one more stop!
The security lines at the ferry were equally horrendous, but we finally made it over to Lady Liberty. It was very hot and sunny so we had a bit if a rest before catching the very back to Battery Park. From Battery Park we walked down to the Freedom Tower and the 9/11 Memorial Fountain. The fountain sits in the footprint of one of the twin Towers and the water, rather than going up like most fountains, runs down the walls, disappearing into a deep hole in the middle. On the barrier around the fountain all the names of those who died are written.
From there we got the subway up to Times Square, a crazy, colourful noisy sea of people, lights and cars! My dad was feeling the effects of our busy day in the sun so dad and I hopped in a yellow taxi back to the hotel.
Yesterday, after a very, very tearful farewell to Tanya and Nikau, Geoff and I flew over to Vancouver, and today we board our ship to start our cruise up to Alaska.
I'm not sure what the internet situation is on a cruise, so don't be surprised if the blog stops for a week or so!
Sunday, 3 August 2014
The USA Adventure
I must apologise for the big gap between blogs, we have been very busy.
We had a long plane ride of 13 hours from Abu Dhabi to Boston. Nikau was amazing, he didn't cry at all, I think he's going to love travel just like his mummy and daddy (and his nana and grandad), Ali's mum picked us up at the airport and took us out to North Falmouth on Cape Cod where they live. It's a very beautiful area of America. It was lovely to be able to take Nikau outside for a walk in his buggy, (something you just can't do in Abu Dhabi because it's so hot)
We spent two nights at Ali's house then on Thursday we convoyed up to Vermont. We hired a very large 8 seater car which Tanya drove for us. On Friday we spent a bit of time visiting Dartmouth College where Ali and Craig met.
Saturday dawned a bit overcast and misty, but as the day wore on the clouds cleared and the sun came out. The wedding was perfect! Ali looked absolutely stunning and Craig made a very handsome groom. Fortunately I took a supply of tissues in my bag, because as I predicted, seeing Craig and Ali look so beautiful and happy together brought a rather large amount of tears to my eyes. The setting where they got married, in the grounds of the Quechee Inn, was picture perfect.
The reception was equally amazing and got me, very emotional. Ali had told me that Craig and I would have to dance together and she would dance with her dad. Needless to say Craig told me nothing! Ali and Craig had chosen a special song for their respective dances. I didn't realise that each couple would be doing a solo performance. Ali and her dad took the floor first. Ali chose a beautiful song about a dad watching his little girl grow up. Then it was our turn, and the DJ said someone better get a towel for Craig's mums tears, cos she's going to need it! He wasn't wrong!! Craig had chosen for our dance Elvis Presley's The Wonder of You, which was the song that Geoff and I chose for our first dance at our wedding 34 years ago! I was in floods of happy tears.
The party went on well into the night. One of the highlites of the night was Bex's boyfriend, Jesse's Michael Jackson dance. He was so good that some people asked if they had hired a professional dancer.
All good things must come to an end and we bid a tearful farewell to the new Mr and Mrs Henderson at the train station this morning.
At the moment we are on the train heading for New York City, a journey of about 7 hours. Tomorrow we plan to go up the Empire State Building and out to the Statue of Liberty.
Saturday, 26 July 2014
Nearly time to leave the sandpit
Apologies for the lack of blogging over the last few days, I just don't know where the time has gone. Finally we have got all wedding outfits sorted, even Nikau has a trendy little outfit to wear. We went back to Dubai last Wednesday to pick up the fascinator only to find that it was still rather large and I was not happy until several feathers had been plucked from it.
On the way home from Dubai we stopped at Ibn Battuta mall. Ibn Battuta was a famous explorer, a bit like the captain Cook of the Middle East. As you walk through the mall it is decorated in the tradition of some of the places he visited, including Turkey, Egypt, China and India.
The other unusual thing about the malls here is that they have little choo choo trains that chuff around the malls, tooting their whistles as the go.
Yesterday we visited a place called Masdar a City. It is not yet a city, rather a technical institute and a couple of cafés. The random thing about this place us you have to park the car and hop into a driverless, robot electric little car that takes you on a ride through the car park building to get to Masdar "City". Masdar city is apparently going to be an Eco friendly city. An interesting experience!
I have been trying to swim most days, and unfortunately the pool closest to us is closed for some reason. The upside is that the smaller pool, which is still less than 5 minutes walk away is temperature controlled, and is kept at a pleasant refreshing temperature.
The rest of our time has been filled in with lots of cuddles with Nikau. We are pretty sure we got a smile yesterday morning! We have only got two more days in the sandpit and head off to the next instalment of our adventure on Tuesday morning.
Monday, 21 July 2014
Day out in a Dubai
On Saturday we all set off at 1.00pm for Dubai. Our first stop was the gold and diamond park to pick up the ring which we had made for Rebecca. On our last visit to Dubai we had given the jeweller a picture of the ring Rebecca wanted and it was beautifully crafted and ready for us to pick up. Last time we had rings made at this place, we had them valued when we got home and they were worth four times what we paid for them in Dubai!
Next stop was Wafi Mall, a mall that looks like an Egyptian pyramid. We found the fascinator shop we were looking for where I tried on a few fascinators. Unfortunately they made me look like a bird had died on my head, so we decided that we would get a small one made for me. (We are going back to Dubai on Wednesday to pick it up).
From there we went to Dubai Mall, the worlds biggest mall. We picked up the 3D hand and footprints which nana and grandad bought for Nikau then went on a bag hunt for me and Tanya. While there is no shortage of bag shops in the mall, trying to match a bag with my shoe colour was a bit of a problem. We ate tea at a Lebanese restaurant and finally left the mall, still bag less, just after midnight!!
Yesterday we went into Abu Dhabi to pick up my jacket from the tailor. We walked into his little shop, the floor of which is littered with bags holding clothing, and before we said anything he went away and came back with my dress and jacket. He has done an amazing job, once again working only from a picture. (Sorry no pictures until after the wedding!) After lunch at Joel's rugby club we went to a mall to continue on our bag hunt. Tanya found one to match her dress and just as we were leaving the mall Geoff spotted another random little bag shop. By this time Nikau was bit grouchy so I suggested we flag the bag shop. Geoff and Tanya insisted we go in, and lo and behold there were two bags to choose from that matched my shoes perfectly! Success at last, mother of the groom outfit organised at last!!
Today has been an at home day, a bit of a rest from the shopping expeditions of the last few days.
Friday, 18 July 2014
Border run done and dusted!
This morning Joel, Geoff and I set off at 9.00am on our border run, leaving Tanya and Nikau behind to have a relaxing day together. (Unfortunately this didn't go according to plan and Tanya spent most of the day feeding Nikau). It was just as well they didn't come with us, it was searingly hot , 46 degrees and sunshine that felt like the sun in New Zealand, ie burning! The scenery on the way to the UAE/Oman border was different to what I expected, with reddish sand dunes visible behind green trees planted along the side of the road.
After about an hour and a half we reached the border, pulled up next to the border control box and the man immediately said "Who is Ms Tanya"? He had looked at the number plate of the car, searched it on his computer and found that Tanya owned the car. Joel explained that he was Ms Tanya's husband and we proceeded through the border to another exit post. After about 700 metres of No mans land we arrived at the Oman border post. We handed over our passports and the nice man said because we are NZers we can stay for 3 months "rest of world only 1 month" I felt really bad when Joel told him we were doing a border run. He directed us to the other side of the room where the exit counter was. So we crossed the room and got our exit stamps for Oman. This gave me a whole new perspective on border crossing, now it was reduced to a room crossing. We hopped back in the car, did a U turn, headed back to the UAE border post, got our passports stamped and entered the country, visa now valid for another 30 days.
Border run complete we headed for Jebel Hafeet, one of UAEs highest mountains. While the view was quite hazy, the scenery around us was quite spectacular! The temperature was extremely hot and very dry. For the first time since I've been here I felt like I was getting sunburnt. We had lunch at a hotel on the mountain, a very pleasant experience only slightly marred by the fact that the floor in the foyer shook continuously as if there was an earthquake!
We stopped at the base of the mountain, where we found an old, somewhat boring dam and a very inviting looking water park. Unfortunately we didn't have our togs with us so we could only gaze longingly at the inviting pools. ( I do know, however, that looks can be deceiving, and inviting looking pools in this part of the world are often as refreshing as a warm bath). Then it was back in the car and we zoomed back to Al Reef at a sedate 140 km per hour!
Tuesday, 15 July 2014
Paperwork and even more paperwork!
Yesterday we took Tanya and Joel's nanny, Ana, to retrieve her passport from her previous employers. I was giving Nikau a cuddle in the car when Tanya and Nikau returned and Ana hopped in the back of the car, took Nikau off me, gave him a cuddle and looked all ready for us to set off. I had to ask her to give Nikau back to me to put him in the car seat. Apparently it is not unusual here for nannies to hold babies in cars!
When we got back to Tanya and Joel's friends (Bex and Fouhy) house, where Ana is staying at the moment, we enjoyed a nice coffee. Unfortunately for me it made me want to go to the loo, and when I tried to leave the loo the lock came off in my hand! I was mortified, having to be rescued from the loo at Tanya's friend's house. I felt only slightly better when Bex said the same thing had happened to her mum when she stayed with them.
It "cooled down" enough for Geoff and I to go for a walk around the Al Reef loop last night. As I write tonight I am sitting out on the balcony, albeit enjoying the cool draught coming from the AC.
Today was another day on the paperwork trail. Tanya was getting more stuff organised for Ana and Geoff and I spent a total of more than three hours sitting in the car with Nikau. Fortunately the paper work trail is nearly complete.....honestly a combination of crazy beauracy and Ramadan makes for an interesting Abu Dhabi experience.
Sunday, 13 July 2014
It's still Ramadan!!!
Theres not a lot to do during the day during Ramadan, except enjoy Nikau time.
Once again we have experienced the frustration of the need for bureaucratic paperwork over here. Joel and Tanya have to sponsor their nanny, and because the apartment is in her name, Tanya is going to be Ana's sponsor. Tanya's friend Bex took Tanya and several trees worth of paperwork into the immigration office in town and after more than two hours of going from one person to another Tanya was told that her husband had to be the sponsor. This would have been a problem because they need the tenancy agreement of the sponsor and that is in Tanya's name. It was a very stressful evening that night. By chance Joel went over to their friends house that evening to help Lele do the ice challenge. He told Lele and his wife Buna about the disaster at the immigration office and Buna said to go to the police station at Baniyas, which is not to far from here, and they could do it. So the next day we trotted off to Baniyas police station with exactly the same paperwork and two hours later had Ana's entry permit all done and sponsored by Tanya!
The other night we went out for tea then went to Tanya's favourite tailor who is making my jacket for me. (Note to self, do not visit tailor to have straps changed on figure hugging dress after a large Iftar meal!) We showed him a picture of what I want, he told us how much material I would need and then we went to the material shop. We told the man there we wanted material to make a jacket to match the colour of my dress which we showed him and he took us upstairs and found exactly the right colour and lining. Just as well I didn't have to find the material myself, there were three floors of roll and rolls of every sort of material you can think of! Armed with our material and lining we trotted back to the tailor who measured me in inches, and said the jacket should be ready in a week!
By this time it was after 10pm, but when in Arabia one must do as the Arabs do and go shopping late at night. So leaving Tanya and Nikau in the car (engine running and AC on) Joel, Geoff and I went into a shopping centre called Hamdan where at 10.30pm we purchased a stylish grey suit for Geoff for the princely sum of $120.
I have been trying to do a daily swim in the pool, which is about the same length as Stokes Valley pool. I can manage thirty lengths at the moment! It's very hard to do outside exercise here, it's just too hot. Late yesterday afternoon Joel took Geoff and I to show us the gym about 5 mins walk away, then Geoff and I continued walking around Al Reef. By the time we got back Geoff was dripping!
Last night we had a BBQ on the balcony, although here you certainly don't spend too long outside, and the food is definitely eaten inside.
Thursday, 10 July 2014
Monday, 7 July 2014
Grandad is here....and so is the passport!
Joel and I left Al Reef at 4.30 yesterday morning to go up to Dubai to pick up Geoff. We called into a petrol station along the way where I bought a cup of coffee and started to take a sip of it. The little Indian man behind the counter said " oh no no madam..you cannot drink here". Despite the fact it was 4.45am and the sun had not risen, apparently Ramadan had started for the day. Just as well I was told off because there was a policeman outside the shop who Joel tells me would not have hesitated to fine me! We had heard a call to prayer as we left at 4.30 so I assume that heralded the start of Ramadan for the day.
When we got to Dubai airport neither Joel nor I could remember what terminal Geoff was arriving at, so we went to terminal 1, which was unfortunately not the right one. Ten dirhams ($3) later we made our way out of terminal 1 car park and over to terminal 3, where Geoff was waiting for us. After we left the airport Geoff and Joel were so deep in conversation about building stuff that Joel took a wrong turn and we had a bit if a tiki tour to get out of Dubai!
After Geoff had freshened up we went to the New Zealand Embassy to pick up Nikau's passport. We only sent the paperwork off to London on Wednesday, and we were able to pick it up in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. So impressed with the speedy processing time of both Nikau's citizenship by descent and his passport! After picking up the passport we were able to find a cafe, with blinds down, where we were able to eat a delicious lunch.
Later on in the evening Joel, Geoff and I left Nikau and Tanya napping and went down to the pool for a dip.
Today we have stayed in the apartment where both grandad and nana have enjoyed Nikau cuddle time.
Saturday, 5 July 2014
The Joys of Ramadan!
Tanya and Nikau are having a nap together and Joel is at rugby training so I'm making the most of this opportunity to write something.
I'm learning that living in a Muslim country during Ramadan can be quite challenging. Here in Abu Dhabi the cafés and restaurants are closed until Iftar, when the sun sets, so if we go out during the day it's hard to find somewhere to eat and drink. Gone are the days of chilling out in the air conditioned mall with a flat white! You are allowed to buy takeaway food but you must not eat it in public. If you eat or drink in public during Ramadan you can be fined. Tanya and I enjoyed a haram (forbidden) ice cream cone on the way back from the supermarket the other day, we ate it in the car as we were driving home. You even have to be discreet when you drink water, and with the temperature constantly in the low to mid forties drinking is very important. Tanya is excused from observing Ramadan because she is breast-feeding.
Today we went up to Dubai for the day, about an hours drive from where Tanya and Joel live. There are more westerners and tourists there and we found a cafe which had all the windows covered so you couldn't see in, but it was open and extremely busy. We had a yummy lunch there. I'm not sure whether food places have to get special permission or pay anything to open during Ramadan, but this particular cafe was doing a roaring trade!
Tanya and Joel bought a front pack to carry Nikau in, particularly for Tanya to use in the states. I finally bought the shoes I want for the wedding, apparently they were the last pair in the size and colour I wanted in the UAE. Just got to get a jacket made, fascinator and bag and mother of the groom will be all organised! Joel has the unenviable task of outfitting his father in law, suit, shirt, tie, shoes, the works! Good luck with that Joel!!
The speed limit on the motorway between Abu Dhabi and Dubai is 140 km, and we cruised along quite comfortably at this speed. It doesn't feel fast because everybody is travelling at the same speed, and it is not unusual for cars to go zooming past you in the fast lane! If you get a speeding fine here you get 50% off if you pay on line!
Geoff is on his way as I write, and Joel and I will be heading up to Dubai very early tomorrow morning to pick him up. Nikau can't wait to meet his grandad!
Friday, 4 July 2014
Thursday, 3 July 2014
My days have been filled with cuddles, windy smiles, pooey nappies and milk spills and I am loving absolutely every minute of it. Nikau is changing each day, it is hard to believe he is now two weeks old. I am pleased to say that his passport has been processed in London and we should receive it back here very soon. Tanya and Nikau will be coming to the USA with us for the wedding but unfortunately Joel cannot get leave. It was a very difficult decision for Tanya to make to bring Nikau to the states without his dad and we are all very sad that Joel won't be able to share this special time with us.
I have bought a dress for the wedding, strangely enough I saw it on my second day in the UAE, but on my third day here even more exciting events were set in motion so the dress was temporarily forgotten. It is now safely in my wardrobe. I have seen some shoes I like, and Tanya is going to contact her friendly tailor to get a jacket made for me. All very exciting!
Grandad, aka Geoff, arrives on Sunday and Nikau is very excited about meeting him!
Wednesday, 2 July 2014
Monday, 30 June 2014
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)