"Our Rose" - Our Beautiful Boat

We flew Auckland, Melbourne to Perth.  We had a night and a full day in Perth - the lovely "spring flowers" in the botanical gardens, Freemantle and a great catch-up with Chris (our friend from skiing in Furano - Japan).

We arrived in Cape Town (via Johannesburg) Tuesday afternoon.  Wednesday we organised our car, sim for the phone, groceries and wine (of course) and then we were in action to get to Rudi and Deslynn to see "Our Rose"

... she is soooooo beautiful and so "big"

The "green" (though you might like it?????) is not the final color... though Rudi with his great sense of humor suggested we may like it!

The "transom" is yet to be added, which will then see "Our Rose" just on 44 feet long.

Au Revoir...

It is now 6 days since we left New Zealand and I am still unable to find the words to say what the last two weeks were for us...  the final packing, giving away and selling AND giving the final loving attention to our beautiful property at the Bay, was nothing compared to the emotions we had for and from our darling friends and family that we have said "see you" to - I could not bear the thought of saying "Good-Bye".  I did not think that I could produce so many tears!  I know we are moving to a wonderful and exciting journey, however at the moment there is a very heart-wrenching part to this...

To our wonderful friends and family we send you lots of love...

Good Bye...

On Thursday we said the first of our Good Byes.

Mum had passed away 2 years ago, so yesterday my brother Terry and his wife Doreen came and the four of us took Mum out on our little boat and scattered her in the Ocean - we all spoke, we read Psalm 121, we recited The Lords Prayer, we played Howard Morrison singing "How Great Thou Art" and we let Mum drift away with stems of Orchids and Freesias

We then came home and I said goodbye to my Brother and Doreen until.....

Spring Dinner...

Chris and Michael invited 10 of our dear friends from the Bay for a sit down dinner with us at their beautiful home (www.thehomestead.co.nz).  What a wonderful evening we all had.  Our friends had all pitched in and gave us a beautiful brass plaque that will have pride and place on "Our Rose".  It reads:

Twenty years from now

you will be more disappointed

by the things that you didn't do

than by the ones you did do.

So, throw off the bowlines.

Sail away from the safe harbour.

Catch the trade winds in your sails.

Explore.  Dream.  Discover

Mark Twain

Good Bye Phuket...

And here he is... our "Fully Qualified" Dive Instructor.  A huge thank you to Thien and his team from Rumblefish, who Richard completed his Instructor Development Course with and also a big thank you to Nico, Tomo and Takuya from Freedom Divers who Richard did his Advanced, Adventure, Rescue, 7 Miscellaneous Specialties, Dive Master, Assistant Instructor, Open Water Scuba Instructor and Specialty Instructor Courses with.  He completed over 80 dives in 10 weeks!

These are some shots Richard took.

And so, it was good bye to Phuket, the beautiful food and the lovely warmth.

Wonderful Friends...

A day after we returned from the Island I collected Chris and Michael from the airport.  They were with us for 9 nights - it was so lovely having them here.

I took them to the Tailor - (I highly recommend www.magnifiquetailor.com).  We had fabulous food - from Thai with a modern twist at Suay (I also highly recommend www.suayrestaurant.com), to my favourite little local Kellotts and lots of others in between.

While Chris and Michael were here we drove up the island and went to dinner at Laem Hin Seafood Restaurant (which is on an old wooden jetty) with our lovely friends we have met here Ashley and Graeme.  We were so pleased they could all meet each other.  We had yet another feast of beautiful fresh Thai food.  We will miss Ashley and Graeme when we leave Phuket!

L'Orfeo Restaurant - Jens Birthday Dinner

Mikey and Ka (Jens Teddy Bear)

It was really lovely to have Chris & Michael here for my birthday and to be spoilt by Richard and C & M!  We had dinner at our local "French Restaurant."

Richard gave me the "Love You" teddy bear for my birthday.  Here he is at the After Beach Bar with his friend Mikey.  They have just had "Pina Coladas!"

The time went so quickly - one minute they were here and the next they were back in NZ.

A Relaxing Break on the Islands...

I am so proud of Richard - he has just completed his Dive Master and 7 Specialites, so before the IDC (Instructor Development Course) begins we decided to have two nights away on one of the Islands - Koh Yao.  On the way out we saw Fishing Trawlers (there are way too many of these working the waters here!)

Koh Yao Resort is a very small resort, French owned.  The Island has only about 2000 residents.  The people are very friendly.  We had the most relaxing time, swimming in the pool, reading, of course our favorite pass-time here - eating!  The food was beautiful, all the seafood came from the local fishermen. We hired a double kayak and paddled to a nearby island

We went for a swim out there, the water temperature was a bit cooler at 29C.  Richards diving has been mainly around 29C to 31C.  There was a lovely swing that other visitors had made...

Diving, Diving, Wedding Anniversary and...

Since the last post time has absolutely flown by - We had Martin and Julie come and stay with us.  We had our 13th Wedding Anniversary and of course Richard has been diving, diving, diving.  By the end of this week he will have completed 7 specialty dives (to instructor level) and Dive Master.  He has now over 60 dives since he started his course here!
Other than being Richards full time Chauffeur, and Hostess and Chauffeur for our guests, I have also taken up Ashtanga Yoga - I am absolutely loving it!  I have also just completed a 3 day Thai Massage course - and the answer is no - I am "not" available to massage.  Richard will be a lucky boy at some stage!

Here are some shots from Richards diving...

Special Day

Today is a very special day - it is our Jono's 21st.  
Here are a few photos 

2004 and 2005

2006

2007

  

2008 and 2009

2010              .

      

"Our Rose" coming out...

A very exciting week - Our Rose was de-moulded!

The Coach Roof, and the Hulls

And then they were joined to become one!

A HUGE THANK YOU to Rudi, Deslynn and their Team

Rain, Rain...

Our home, turned into one big 

swimming pool!