I'm officially a grown-up today, as its my 30th birthday!! Here is a (slightly faded) photograph of me 30 years ago (not quite to the day) hanging out with my parents. As you can see I was born in the 70s.. Thats my big brother's arm in the background, he's not in the image because he's too busy plotting lots of nasty tricks to play on me, and when to inform me that santa doesn't exist :(

 

 

 

 

I've always been told I was a model baby, but apparently that doesn't mean I was reading The Illiad at 8 months old, it just means I slept all the time. Oh well, they always say the greatest sleepers turn out to be the most intelligent and the most beautiful.*

 

*I just made that up.

 

As befits a couple with such film-starry names, Jacqui and Kirk got married on top of a snowy mountain, a short helicopter ride away from Queenstown! I've been known to offer people discounts in the past if they promise to do something really extravagant on their wedding day (like get married on top of elephants or do the entire last dance from Dirty Dancing..) but hey, if this kind of thing is commonplace in New Zealand then no more discounts! This wedding was SO much fun!!

 

Here is me in the helicopter just before we took off (er, the 24mm lens isn't too flattering!)

 

 

 

Continuing with the film star theme, here is Jacqui looking extrememly glam in her wedding car:

 

 

 

Getting ready for the flight:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jacqui and Kirk eloped from Melbourne, Australia.. only they brought their mums too (aww!). I think this is nervous laughter as the helicopter takes off...

 

 

 

 

 

We landed on a snowy spot overlooking all the surrounding mountains (some of which were used in the Lord of the Rings films), and Jacqui and Kirk set about getting married!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some shots in the snow... it was pretty cold, Jacqui just must be slightly superhuman because she left her coat off for a good half an hour..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back in the helicopter...

 

 

 

 

 

And a bit of champagne in the car on the way home....

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ahhh, the glamour of it all! So, if anyone reading this is considering getting married on a yacht in the carribean, or.. I don't know... in a chocolate factory or something.. just let me know, I may be able to squeeze you into my busy schedule. Ahem.

 

Thanks Jacqui and Kirk for having me along! xxxx

Steven took a long weekend off work and we visited Queenstown (well, Arrowtown to be exact). It was what I would term a perfectly styled weekend for me - the days were spent out walking and getting muddy with the dogs, and each evening we went to a different fancy Queenstown eatery with some friends.

 

The photographs below are from a very cold afternoon walking around Lake Hayes...

 

 

 

 

I've yet to meet a dog who is comfortable walking over bridges or piers where they see beneath the slats.. Nana was too nervous to pose for the camera here..

 

 

 

 

This weekend we are back in Queenstown - I have a wedding on Saturday and IF the weather is good it will take place in the snowy mountains after a helicopter ride!!

I did a little mini - photo session with Taylor and Kate at their home last weekend. Taylor is 2 and a half, and Kate is 6 months. Kate is at that sitting up stage where she is liable to topple over if there's a slight breeze, or if she moves an arm... so I have her all lined up in the view-finder and she just disappears from sight! Taylor is easier to capture as long as you have a shutter speed of about 5000ths of a second :)

This is Kate. Look at those cheeks!!



 
And her gorgeous big sister:



 

This week we took some friends of ours from the UK to see the local wildlife here in Dunedin. We drove to Sandfly bay, which is a gorgeous quiet beach where you can hide and watch the little Yellow Eyed Penguins return from their hunting missions in the sea. If you're lucky you can see the little pingus climbing back up the sand dunes to see their wives and children, and sometimes you can see the Hooker Sea Lion - the rarest Sea Lion in the world!

I'm glad to have Steven around on these excursions because he's like a professional wildlife guide and points out things that I would have completely missed because I'm too busy gossiping or playing with my camera. Since no one else in our group has any clue where the elusive penguins or sea lions might be hiding, we all steathily follow Steven as he comes across important clues like sea lion pee... or little penguin tracks in the sand. We are busy standing around marvelling at the pee stain and Steven is already seeking out new exciting finds. I'm sure this is some innate talent that all New Zealanders possess, much like my innate British talent of discovering half price clothing bargains in town... ahem..

Sandfly bay at dusk: