Didn't you start off in CHCH Winnie? ? ? Auckland Ali & I and some of the band of "losers" are thinking of coming that way... . When we get off our A and actually organise something.
cookessentials,
Jul 8, 5:16pm
buzzy, not sure what your problem is, but it is getting a bit tiresome. I have better things to do with my time AND my money than to be phoning Tradme about you- so please do not continue with your accusations. Now, for something far more interesting.
Thanks Fisher, I apppreciate your advice and yes, Julia, by all means. If you are happy to do so, that would be great.
charlieb2,
Jul 8, 5:16pm
Hey Winnie... . . What plans do ya have when you get back here?
charlieb2,
Jul 8, 5:17pm
PS:I've started a new thread... ... lets reclaim recipes! ! ! ! !
alewis,
Jul 8, 5:18pm
daughter arrives on MONDAY woo hoo, cannot believe I havent seen her in eight months, its going to be really strange and I just know she is really looking forward to a home cooked meal. have a chicken rissotto cooked now, thought that was really good, have boiled eggs in fridge and we are mashing them with ranch dressing they are going down well, milkshakes are getting a bit sick of, doesnt take long I brought him home a burger king cheese burger he crumbled it and ate tiny bits, hes a bit of a junk food addict so finding that quite hard I think! !
winnie231,
Jul 8, 5:24pm
Good memory Toady! Yes I was living in Chch when I joined what used to be a happy family of cooks here 5 years ago. I moved to Golden Bay 3 years ago to manage The Naked Possum Cafe & then the saga of my broken hand started ... .
To make a long story short - I'm now moving back to Chch to study a Diploma in Tourism Management & miss 13 is staying in Golden Bay with the ex so I'll be alone for the 1st time in ? ? ?
Looking forward to cooking what I like! ! !
charlieb2,
Jul 8, 5:25pm
Wow. . what an adventure winnie! ! !
cookessentials,
Jul 8, 5:27pm
The Naked Possum! ! - isn't that Golden Bay way? ?
cookessentials,
Jul 8, 6:03pm
Are the mangoes as nice Fisher?
fisher,
Jul 8, 6:24pm
Cooky... . didn't see any apart from the markets and at "Whitmores" a market halfway between town and the Rarotongan. We had so much fruit at the Edgewater didn't see the need to buy any. . CITC is the main supermarket in town (about the size of a large pak n save) and is the place to buy groceries. . Fruit and veges at the SAT market or if needed, places like Whitmores but be prepared to pay a lot more for them. . The Whitmore waterfall will prob be dry in January as well. . OHH take mossy repellent. . We didn't really have any apart from when we opened the ranch slider and watched the sunsets. . and it was just one or two. . Bit of useless information for you lol. . ONLY the mossies in the daytime will give you dengue fever so I'm told. . dont quote me ya hear... hahahahahahaa
cookessentials,
Jul 8, 8:19pm
Not useless info because the mozzies just LOVE me, so thanks for the heads up.
charlieb2,
Jul 8, 8:52pm
Its marmite they tell you to eat here, before encountering sandflies. . something to do with the VitB? Wonder if it work for mossies...
fisher,
Jul 8, 9:06pm
Hey all you other folks... charlie. . ali. . toady. . winnie. . cooky. . hmmmmmrecurring theme. . all names ending with "eeeee" hahahahaha so funny. . I digress. . Will put up some pics soon and "yous can all drool. hehehehe" # Toady # Geesh uni coming up already, say hey to the girls from us please. . and shake those mothballs out of S's wallet. . go on ya know ya want to go... # Charlie, Ali # miss your guys sense of humour... was so silly but fun in ye olde days huh:} # Winnie # hope all is well with the moving. . dont forget to send me ya email and i'll send some more herbs to chch next season... Hope the hand is at least better than it was... :{
winnie231,
Jul 8, 9:22pm
Thanks fisher ... will do. Had a really blond moment when cancelling my contract with clear.net LOL ... forgot to save my address list first! Duh! ! ! Atleast I know where to reach you :) And the hand is at a point that I can live with ... just need to find myself a luffly cantab man to do the heavy work in my kitchen ;)
cookessentials,
Jul 9, 7:35am
Thanks Fisher. i had a lovely email from the resort this orning with some good deals and details to pour over. Someone on the travel section did answer my query and apparently they stayed at Sancturay Rarotonga not long ago. it is with the Rarotongan and is exactly where you suggested we stay- at the Eastern end of the beach. They have refurbished the beachfront suites put in a new pool etc... sounds very nice. They have a good deal on until March 2011 at $345pn instead of $520. Not cheap, but it is a special occasion. We were hoping to go to italy in June/July to celebrate both B'days(his in Jan, mine in Ot) and both significant ones but we are very busy in the business so thought I would do this as a surprise just in case we dont get to italy and if we do, then we have had a bit of extra time away which is much needed at the moment.
cookessentials,
Jul 9, 7:38am
http://www.sanctuaryrarotonga.com/accom.html
alewis,
Jul 9, 8:14am
that looks lovely pam, I am finding that we must live for now - and enjoy every day, too many people are dying too young or loosing their health, if you are of sound body (and mind! ! ) life really is too short for crap. looking forward to one or two non receipe threads on here! !
cookessentials,
Jul 9, 8:44am
I am there already! Have only managed to anchor off rarotonga when we went to England, so look forward to getting on to terra firma. Mum and dad have a dear Friend ( now deceased) that used to live in Raro and her daughter who is a nurse is still there. Brian wont know a thing, till we get to the airport!
charlieb2,
Jul 9, 9:03am
I totally agree with your sentiments Ali... and cooks, that looks gorgeous! ! !
What a lovely treat for you both.
cookessentials,
Jul 9, 9:10am
Thanks charlieb2 - just nice to go somewhere different, where one can lay about in a hamock or go swimming etc... not worried about shopping ( apart from getting mangoes and paw paw! ) as i am in the shop six days per week, so shopping just does not do it for me. I just have to liaise with his boss 9 although, he contracts out to them) but just have to get things well organised as he has a big Marae project coming up after Christmas so need to make sure that everyone knows he wont be here from the 14th- it's only 5 nights, so i am sure they will cope! The resort can also do us a special gazebo dinner for two ( private dining) in the gardens but it's $99 a head, so need to think that one through! I take it you can do a boat trip to Aitutaki? as the plane fare is a little expensive. my dad used to be friends with old Aggie Grey when he used to do the Island run with the Union Steam Ship Company and I would like to go and see the hotel atc.
fisher,
Jul 9, 10:54am
Cooky... my suggestion for you. . get yaself a travel agent. . (you dont pay them) and see if they can do a flight /accommodation package deal for you. . Plan out ya dates in advance. . (brian's boss) and once sorted and confirmed, you'll need to book and pay for it this far out. . your traveling in the school holiday period so need to book this far out before the school holiday bookings start rolling in and no flights are then available. . You can cheaply hire scooters but it was nicer for us to be together in a car and there were a couple of showers while we were out. . Talk to Ruth at Rarotonga Rentals (ph 22326) and see if she will do a deal for you on the car hire. . pay for three but get 5 days. . For us we found having a car invaluable and on one day just used it to get to the restaurant in town. . taxis are albut non existent, expensive and a trip to town would be the equivalent of a days car hire. . buses go around the island (32km round) and there is one every 50 mins. . clockwise and anticlockwise. . but a pain in the butt if you go to town in the evening which we did nearly every night... Get the car left at the airport so you can just put ya bags in and drive. . (have 2 bucks to get out of car park and turn left when you go out) Its about a 25 min drive. . (Edgewater 10 min) at 50 kph. .
cookessentials,
Jul 9, 11:04am
Fabulous, thank's fisher. We have a friend who is a travel agent, so can go through her if needs be. Just have to accumulate a bit of money on the cc first! as we have just booked and paid for Melbourne- ( trade gift fair) 4th August. I have spoken with the lady that helps out here from time to time, so she is free. I have a note of Ruth in regards to a rental car, which I think is a good idea, as we like to go off exploring. The wairarapa weather today is very chilly - about 6 or seven at the moment with a Southerly coming right up the street and driving rain! so, the thought of 27-30 dgrees and a cocktail in one hand is very appealing right now! Toady has my email if you want to send any photos through.
fisher,
Jul 9, 11:08am
more suggestions. You'll need to go back to her office and fill out forms in the morning and if it's a Sunday, get a temp drivers licence for 2. 00 bucks. . and go to the police station on Monday, take your nz licence, pay nz20. 00 for a cook island drivers licence for the person who will be driving. . BTW. . You'll need $55nz EACH as departure tax. . Aitutaki is over an hours plane trip away and you can do a day trip but as you say its NOT cheap. . Go out to TAMARIND restaurant for your special night out. . A place close by is SAILS . . magic location and views but we never went there so dont know the food quality. . (Aggie Grey's is in Samoa)
cookessentials,
Jul 9, 1:52pm
Cool, thanks for that. Tamarind sounds ethnic? ? which is fine by us. I just thought that $99 per head for a private dinner was a bit much. Have just checked airfares too. It's either Air NZ 777 at about 11. 30am Mon or Friday and return either thurs or Sunday-but reasonable hours, however the price! ! Eeek... over $2000 return for both as opposed to Pacific blue at around $1300 return for both but crazy hours! !
fisher,
Jul 9, 2:47pm
We went in with Pacific Blue, remember no service on their flights but leaving at 6. 30pmwe went to Manukau Mall and had a chinese dinner. . and just sipped drinks for the 4hr 15 min flight... Coming back we went Air NZ , full service movies and all and chicken cordon blue for dinner. . They are getting smaller at every flight :} We paid 1164 for both flights and the Air NZ was 9 bucks cheaper... go figure... I did this because of the hours we left and returned allowing us to drive down leisurely from up north (4 hours). . have a nosey around shops. . get our splits and snack supplies and have dinner, before a friend took us to the airport leaving our vehicle at her place. . She picked us up and this allowed us to drive back, pick up dogs as arranged and home around 12. 30am. . letting us sleep in, in the morning and recoup. . Its a killer coming back with pacific blue (we did this in January and learnt) up all day, leave at 1. 05am, 4 hours odd on the plane, customs, and 4 odd hours drive home. . If you stay over in Auckland then that will make the difference. .
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