City Lights

Yesterday we had our winter gathering of City Lights - an outreach in South Auckland involving over 20 different churches around town. We had a record number of 200 volunteers taking part in projects such as putting on a fun day in Mangere; playing with orphans and foster care kids; DIY (do it yourself) on Mangere Baptist Church which hosted us, foster care properties and painting the fence at a kindergarten; spending time with women at a Women's Refuge etc. Wayne and I helped cater for the masses with the sausies above at multiple sausage sizzles and feeding the troops when they got back to our bass after their projects :)

These murals are new additions to the church walls by graffti artists Bless 275 and others. (FYI 275 are the first three phone numbers for Mangere).

Bush and Beach

Recently I joined the other PR staff on a famil "down memory lane" in West Auckland. We stopped for coffee at a cafe in Titirangi where I bumped into the brother of my friend's husband who I met during my working holiday in Japan in 1995! We then ventured out to Karekare and Piha on the West Coast of Auckland to walk along the grand black sand beaches where I used to body board in the surf and through the bush tracks which I explored throughout my teenage years. BeesOnline is well worth a stop for coffee and/or lunch if you're out West!

Lake Tekapo

I found myself quite emotional when we arrived at the Church of the Good Shephard at Lake Tekapo on Saturday... I hadn't visited since travelling around the South Island in a campervan as a teenager with my family, yet I'd been captivated by the majesty and romance of the place ever since, incorporating it into friends' itineraries, and in one special case, honeymoon!

The Whitehorse

Check out the views overlooking Waimate from the Whitehorse Monument! The ocean, the Canterbury Plains and the snow-covered mountains looked beautiful.

Oamaru

We headed to Oamaru for lunch at Portside on Friday... What gorgeous limestone buildings line the heritage precinct of the city!

Waimate Knitwear

We've been in Waimate this weekend visiting Wayne's family. They run Waimate Knitwear which specializes in garments made from beautiful Possum and Merino. I came home with a new cardigan and beanie :)

Rangitoto

Wayne and I hosted a couple from the Head Office of Focus on the Family, Colorado Springs, last Sunday arvo. After Yum Cha we took them up Mt Victoria in Devonport and then the Sky Tower for some stunning views of our City and Rangitoto.

iPhone Geek Mania

We made our way to Queen St before midnight a few weeks back to see the queues of geeks lining up to buy a 3G iPhone. My "mastergeek" (www.geekzone.co.nz) Wayne now has one too ... it's great fun being able to locate ourselves using the GPS to get directions and estimated arrival times while we're house hunting! Anyone else had a play on one yet?