Sunday is the day of the sun! (2nd November 2008)

Was up at 8am to sort out more of my stuff from the move and did some shopping in town for a few other items. I need to re-organise my things ASAP so that I can get back into the swing of things come Monday. There was no one home when I was up this morning, only Flick:

Quick stop at my office to check my emails in case there were any important stuff (no internet connection at home till Monday evening). Photos of my workplace:

Got back home around noon and still didn't find the others so carried the study desk I bought myself up the stairs into my room in parts. Sob, sob...I grazed my nose carrying one of the larger planks! It's going to have a mark tomorrow - ARGH! And I didn't know how to work the old washing machine so wrung my clothes by hand. Gee, too much labour work on a Sunday...I need a drink for all my hard work!

Around 3pm, I headed to Mac's Brewery Bar and Restaurant to catch up with the rest of the Rarotonga gang. It was such a beautiful and sunny day today - time to put on my mini skirt! ;) Couple more photos of my new flat taken on the way out:

Caught up with Kim, Debs and Rachel at Mac's Brewery and the ladies where already all relaxed with drinks in hand :) The place was packed so we decided to try St Johns Bar around the corner - hopefully get seats out in the sun. We have to make the most of the sunny day, people! Plus it was my first time drinking at St Johns ;) Lucky for us, we managed to grab a table outdoors. Yay! This bar is THE PLACE TO BE in summer because it has a nice grass patch outside where patrons can sit around to eat and drink. Awesome!

It was quite funny to see people walking past dressed differently - some in summer wear (like me!) and others still in winter jackets. Dribs and drabs, the rest of our gang arrived together with other common friends. Damien came to catch up and joined us, and I saw Claus walking past with Adrianna so had them join in too. Amyliz and Colm had just got back from the Cook Islands today and Colm was looking really brown. James and Damien - don't you 2 boys tell me people with Irish blood can't tan. Just look at our Irish boy (Colm) here. He's brown! You guys are coming to the beach with me this summer for some sun tanning lessons...hmm...Photos taken this afternoon: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8070917@N05/sets/72157608658856529/detail/

Thanks Flo for putting all the photos together into DVDs for us! I think we had taken over a thousand photos on the trip and it would be a lot of work to sort them out but I'll love every minute of it :)

Claus had this crazy idea to check out the sunset at Makara Beach so around 6.30pm, I tagged along on an adventure to chase the sun. We bid our goodbyes to the others who continued to enjoy their Sunday at the bar - was lovely to see everyone and we need to organise another group get-together!

Took a photo of Happy Bar on the walk to Claus's car (the bar had an event celebrating The Day of The Dead):

We picked up Claus's friend, Celine in town and the three of us headed to Makara Beach. I've actually met Celine previously at other house parties so it was nice to see her again after such a long time :)

Makara Beach sits on Wellington’s wild south west coast, exposed and lashed frequently by the prevailing gales. I've never been here before - another first for me! The drive to Makara Beach takes about half an hour from the city centre on windy roads through hills and farms. Very interesting to find such a remote area right in the middle of the city.

Along the drive, we saw lots of roadkill and Claus insisted they were dead rabbits. "No, they are possums," argued Celine and the two decided on a bet to see who was right. Loser buys the winner a bottle of wine. Ooo, I could so see Claus losing this one...rabbits, right...

"Noooooooooo, the sun is on the wrong side!!!" went Claus. Bummer, the sunset was hidden behind the hills at Makara Beach by the time we got there and our poor boy was pulling his hair out. Celine got her pants wet as we walked along the beach for a bit (thankfully I had my mini on) - this was all Claus's fault. He and his insane idea of walking by the beach in hope to catch the last bit of sun. It was freaking cold and the waves were crashing in on us! Give it up man!! C'mon, it's no big deal - we'll do this again another day. Loads more opportunity for nice sunny days like today this summer!

It was a nice drive and loads of laughs in the car. Sure enough, Claus lost the bet (eww, and he took a photo of the roadkill on my camera!) - did you think you would win against someone like Celine who has lived in NZ longer than you have? Oh, you guys are funny! Photos taken on our little adventure: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8070917@N05/sets/72157608660595150/detail/

Got dropped off home by 8.30pm, chatted with flatmate Priscilla over dinner and back to more re-organising of my stuff. Hmm, I should fix up the study desk. Photo here of me and my grazed nose: