Update...

Roight.
It's going to take me a wee while to write things down properly so here's a mini update in the meantime...
I'm now in Sunny Brisbane with Trish. It is as ace as expected.
i've been swimming in the uni pool and discovered that i'm not fit at all despite the running.
I went to watch the Wheelchair rugby team train which was as physical and crazy as you would expect.
I've learnt how to play poker.
Oh dear.
Didn't realise i had an addictive personality 'til then.
I'm getting my hair cut today.
Off to an aborigine festival in a couple of days.
Booked flights to Whitsundays- Woo Hoo! Can't wait.
Erm, decided once and for all that I shall be returning to Raglan when i get back to NZ.
Just need to find a job there.
That's about it.

So.
I'm off to Brisbane to see sister Trish.
I have to leave Raglan and spend a few nights in Auckland where i'll be catching my flight to Oz.
Laura very kindly drives me up to the Big City.
This turns into a real adventure in itself.
Let's just say that torrential rain, windscreen wipers that don't work and a busy motorway are things that shouldn't be mixed.
Anyhoo, we survive.
We find Elli's flat where we shall be staying.
She had warned us that it's messy.
It really is.
really.
I took photos.
Elli's room is nice though, and her untidy flatmates are all very friendly and nice.
It's great to feel like a student again.

The Hills are Alive!

Since it is my last day at Solscape, Laura and I decide to walk down the track at the back of the property, towards the mountain.
Neither of us has been further than the abandoned cabin before, even though between us we've spent over 6 months here...

It's like we've stepped through a wardrobe and ended up in LaLa wonderland. We trek through thick vegetation and forest, climb slippy riverbanks, step over sheep skulls and dead possums, wade through a frantically bubbling stream, climb a stile and then we come to a clearing...
There are rolling hills as far as the eye can see!
I get the soundtrack to the 'Sound of Music' in my head and run and skip my way through the fields.
The rain stops and the Sun shines brightly in a bright blue sky.
"I can't believe we've never been here before"
It is so nice.
We walk towards Karioi's chin before getting too frightened of the staring cows and turning home.
'Nah, don't think I can leave this place, too much I have yet to see...'

Corrupting the innocent...

On the plane over to Brisbane, the little girl in the seat in front of me kept popping up over the headrest and raising both eyebrows at me.
Her father explained that this was a skill she had just learnt.
I taught her how to wink at boys, stick out her tongue at adults and go cross-eyed...
& all before her dad woke up.
genius.

Stray #1

About ten days ago, a mangy-looking cat showed up at Solscape.
It was pretty grotty and so large that we thought it might possibly be a possum/monster/cat.
Nobody really warmed to it.
All it did was just sit outside the door and watch us while we ate delicious food in the cosy warm kitchen.
After about five days, however, we began to admire him.
'Persistance' the cat.
He maintained his silent vigil throughout rain, gales and thunder.
We watched his fur blowing in the gusty weather, whiskers dripping, tail sodden.
He never tried to come inside or seek better shelter, he was just there.

Eventually, the owners ring up.
It's next-door again, the owners of the puppies.
Do we happen to know where 'Douglas' is?
Ah, yes. We do. He's outside the stationhouse. He's been here for days.

When the neighbours come that same evening, Douglas has vanished.
He's been tipped off.
Ben says that when he told him that his owners were coming, the cat simply got up and walked away.

We finally manage to trap him in a cabin and call Charlene. As she carrys him over the fence we are given a decidedly dirty look by Douglas.
We betrayed him.
Now he's got to put up with those kids who pull his tail again...