We have been swimming nearly every day we have been here. There is a public "proper" pool in Kaitaia but they charge $1.50 each so we have been in the sea or lake or the river at Digger's valley. Had a good swim there yesterday. We were invited over for a bbq and had a swim first.
Paddy is out of his depth in the deepest bits so I played at lifeguard. Saw a crayfish in one of the holes in the rock. There are eels in the water but I hve not trodden on one yet!
We did do some eel observations after the barbie, attracting them with rotten eggs and then getting them on the bank with a bag of rotten meat attached to a line. Very slimey wriggly things. Ruth and I were trying to work out how they breathe as they do not have large gill openings. Any eel experts out there care to inform?
After that we had a family demo of cow insemination which was most instructive. The boys were very interested. I promise to post photos as I am sure people will find them interesting.
Digressing slightly 3 things that are different in NZ to Uk that we didn't know about.
- You pay $1.50 for each sack of rubbish you put out for the bin-men. It really concentrates the mind on waste reduction. Recycling stuff is (apparently) free.
- Banks are NOT free. They charge for having an account, for cheque-books and for alsorts of other things that would be free in UK
- When the siren goes off at 6.30 am or 9.23pm or whenever, it is not the 4 minute warning as we thought the first time we heard it! It is a summons to the firemen to get on over to the station - they are not on full-time cover. Phew that was a relief!
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