hawera push bike pub crawl 09

For those looking for info on the 2010 pub crawl, click here.

I had never heard of a pub crawl before I got here--the things I learn! The Hawera pub crawl has been in the newspaper for a couple of weeks now and I find it quite fascinating.

The Hawera push bike pub crawl is an annual even that started 32 years ago with a few friends and has exploded to nearly 2000 participants this year.  It's so big that the powers that be want to shut it down as a traffic hazard, but it has a life of its own. Nobody legally takes responsibility for it any more, so the Police don't have much recourse. There were 4 South Taranaki police cars and one paddy wagon in Normanby along with lots and lots of official people stationed along the route.

I stood by the road for about an hour and took photos as the crawlers pedal powered between Hawera and Normanby.  I saw Snow White, escaped prisoners, Ghostbusters, fairies and bees. I even saw Santa and ET!

Yes, this is pedal powered!

To see more photos click here. 

Easy, peasy Christmas traditions

In case you missed some of my very first posts (I'm sure that includes everyone but one friend in the US!), we started some great Christmas traditions here.

First of all, we do not give clothes or other necessities as Christmas gifts (unless it's something super-special). I recall too many Christmases when there was nothing fun, only clothes. I know my folks didn't intend to warp me with their 'Christmas', but I have no intentions of passing those feelings on.

Hubby and I now decide during the year what our Christmas gift is (when we buy it) and I just wrap up some candy or something small to unwrap with the kids on Christmas Day. 

Missy thoroughly enjoys getting a 'certificate' to go shopping with me at some point after Christmas to buy some special clothes or CD's or whatever she really wants and have a 'just us girls' lunch out. I'm glad she's so easy about this since we all know teenagers are so hard to buy for. 

Otterboy does enjoy his trains that Hubby built for him, and our newest model we are building is N scale. So, we buy cars and accessories for the layout during the year. 

I don't remember how it got started, but, since it's summertime here in the southern hemisphere, we now have the tradition of having an outside 'gift hunt' instead of putting gifts under the tree. They are just silly things like bath soaps and pencil sets along with drawing paper and silly string and other things from the $2 shop or the Warehouse (NZ's answer to Wally World). They find all the hidden gifts then bring them inside to unwrap. And, gladly, these are also things that can be collected throughout the year.

After the gifts, we go to the beach and usually stop for ice cream.There are definite advantages to having a sunny, hot Christmas! 


But, it's still a bit weird.

Everything's moved

Now, I just have to figure out where it all goes!

And, as anyone who has ever moved in their life has said, I didn't know we had so much stuff!

Our first move was just after I got here when I only had three suitcases of stuff and Hubby just had 3 tiny rooms of bachelor stuff. I must say that three years changes all that!

Patheticat, AKA Bubba, did not like the move at all. We got him to the new place and he promptly spent 24 hours under our bed. Then when he did--neurotically--venture out, he spent another 24 hours gone. I don't know if he was punishing us for changing things or was just too afraid of the neighbor's chihuahua to get back home. The good news is, he is pretty much accustomed to the new surroundings and I am thrilled with everything in the house.

The keys in the picture below are from our old house and our new house [before we asked to have the locks upgraded]. Now, I can't remember the last time I saw any keys like these in use in the States. If you have used a 'skeleton key' lately, I'd be pleased to hear from you in a comment.

In discussing this with Hubby, who knows a LOT of stuff about NZ, I found that the districts were allotted 12 different keys for houses way back when. It seems that if you knew what you were doing, you could make a master key by filing one just right. Now, if that doesn't make you feel a bit insecure, I don't know what does!

more of NZ trivia

• Rumor has it that the first European to see the country was Dutch navigator Abel Tasman in 1642.
• There are more golf courses per capita than any other place in the world.
• Less than 5% of NZ population is human.
• Australia has Vegemite; New Zealand has Marmite.
• Almost 1/3 of the country is national parks.
• Little Blue Penguins visit NZ from other Oceania waters. They come ashore at night.
• The Tohunga Suppression Act of 1907 made it a crime to mislead Maori by professing to possess supernatural powers.
• Tourism accounts for 10% of Wellington's annual income.
• John Butler was the first ordained clergyman to settle in NZ as a missionary. In 1820, he supervised the first plowing of NZ soil.
• There is a city called National Parks.
• People have been admiring the glow-worms of Waitomo Caves for over 100 years.
• Although an area of the country, a pass and a river are named after him  (although spelled differently), James McKenzie's date and place of birth are unknown, as is his ultimate fate. It seems he served time for sheep rustling in 1855 and served time, but escaped twice. After being recaptured and serving 9 months of his 5-year sentence, he was pardoned and never heard from again. It is believed he went to Australia.
• NZ has more bagpipe bands, per capita, than Scotland.
• Frying Pan Lake, in the north island, is the world's largest hot water spring.
• Election day is not a set date. The PM decides the day for each election.
• Legend has it that the Beehive, the legislative building in the capital city, was actually designed on the back of a cigarette pack as a joke and was never intended to be built.
• The only place in the world where two different sea levels can be seen at the same time is at French Pass, on the northern side of the south island.
• Hokey Pokey ice cream is a national favorite.
• In 1868, the Battle of Addisons Flat never happened.
• Initially, NZ was a dependency of New South Wales. When Australia formed the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901, NZ declined to join and became independent.
• The Buzzy Bee was originally made in NZ.
• 'Dancing sand' can be seen, only by permission to dive, at Waikoropupu Springs, the world's largest freshwater springs by volume.
• In 1969, the voting age was lowered from 21 to 20. In 1974, it was changed to 18.
• The city of Auckland has the world's most privately owned boats of any city in the world.
• William Pickering was born in Wellington. He became director of the Jet Propulsion Lab in California, which produced the first successful US earth satellite.
• Baldwin Street in Dunedin has the steepest grade of any street anywhere.
• The last time a prisoner was put in irons in NZ was in 1897.
• John Pawelka was a very elusive prisoner, having escaped from custody on several occasions. His last escape was from Wellington's Terrace jail in 1911 and he was never seen or heard from again.