Vanuatu - no.4 Hero's guide to sipping tea and other random clips

What do you think of the quality on these clips? Any tips? Eg. on good sites for sharing videos.

Hero's tips on how best to sip tea :
http://video.yahoo.com/watch/5207527/13752883

The Olams hit Whitesands :
http://video.yahoo.com/watch/5207616/13753108

Hero runs along a road somewhere in Vanuatu :
http://video.yahoo.com/watch/5207633/13753132

Vanuatu - no. 3 Hero's basket

some time in May 2009....
(don't ask the day of the week or month - we've lost track)

....Hero found her way into the washing basket in company of some errant pink socks.

Flowers from the garden with Hero's "memei" (grandmother in Vanuatu pidgin).

Delia and Dan trying hard to learn Spanish with only a book to help them.

Hero painting the water tank with water.

Vanuatu - no.2 April photos

We know this blog thing is supposed to be near instantaneous.. so will have to blame this 4 week "late" post for being in the "Timeless Islands" (as Vanuatu is called in travel brochures).

Friday 17th April

We arrived to lovely 25 deg C Port Vila weather (80% humidity!) and the sounds of a very polished string band while waiting to go through immigration.

The rest of April...

Pretty much straight away on arrival we started accompanying Dan's parents on their various community service activities.

One of them involves walking for 10 mins down a beautiful path through lush coastal vegetation to a little Baha'i community centre where children's spiritual education classes are held each Sunday before lunch...

Indiara Hero hard at work with Barbara's (Dan's mum) group

A newly adopted friend, Anisa, who helped Hero start to acclimatise by encouraging her to scamper down the dirt path. (Hero was initially even loath to go on the outdoor verandah at her grand-parents place as the ground was 'yukky' - but a few days in the islands quickly cured that!)

And of course, lots of reading books (often several times over...)
Dan celebrated his 35th birthday with a chocolate mousse cake from local french patiserie "La Peché Mignon" (= literally 'the cute little sin', ie. a small indulgence).

One of Hero's newly found friends who is being lavished with attention and frequent carrying.

Vanuatu - no.1

Here's a clip of Indiara Hero running around singing a new composition of her very own...

Australia - East Coast

Fri 11th to Tues 15th April

We were met in Brisbane airport by our good friend Mojdeh formerly of Adelaide who hosted us very generously in her Gold Coast digs. And it rained tropical cats and dogs the morning after we arrived which made us feel very welcome!

Watching the dolphin show at Sea World was serious business!



As were the mandatory show rides (which Delia delighted in), including this merry-go-round, which although quite tame, gave Dan the wobbles....!

Tues 15th & Weds 16th April

We set off late in the afternoon for the NSW border, destination Lismore, to visit more ex-Adelaide friends, Cuchulain and Nazanin Coker.

Of course, we had the mandatory visit to the Coast, but didn't like the laid back 'hype' of Byron so set off for quiet Lennox Head and a walk by the great Pacific Ocean.

Thurs 16th and Fri 17th April

We caught the train up to Brisbane and spent our last evening with Joey and John. Dan's mum had befriended Joey in Adelaide a few years ago, when she had come out from China to explore Australia. The contact has been kept up and she has since migrated to Queensland with her husband. It was touching to see her again in their new home making a good go at adapting to life in a new country like real Aussie battlers.

New Zealand / Aotearoa

[will be updated shortly with more details!]

Fri 4th April : Australia to NZ
After not sleeping a wink the night before (due to last minute packing and house cleaning), we finally set off with Delia's father Stef to Adelaide Airport just after 4am. We transited in Melbourne where we met up with Dan's parents and aunt and uncle and then flew on together to Christchurch, NZ. Picked up a campervan, which was to be our trusty steed for the next week.

Sat 5th April : Winchester, South Island
Sam (Dan's brother) and Stacey's big day!

Sun 6th April : Pleasant Point, South Island, NZ
Spent the day chillin' at Stacey's mums place in Pleasant Point - a 'Footrot Flat' type of rural kiwi town.

Mon 7th to Weds 9th April : Wanaka and environs, South Island, NZ
Amazing scenary as we wandered around the Southern Alps.

The walk up to the Rob Roy Glacier....

Thurs 10th April : Dunedin, South Island
Relaxing times spent with old friends from Vanuatu.

Fri 11th April : NZ to Brisbane/Gold Coast, Australia
And back to the mainland...;)

And not forgetting the Olam haka....