Queenstown from the TSS Earnslaw... 

Suspended like an ornate moon, Fern shimmers in the gentle Wellington light...  

Beautiful New Zealand holiday....

It is almost a month since Mark and I returned from our lovely two week holiday in NZ. We flew into Auckland on 5th March and spent 3 days in the city, exploring the sites and getting acquainted with the local music scene (I could write pages about these experiences!) On the fourth day we headed south to Wellington where we stayed for a further two nights. Wellington is a creative, cosy, and beautiful city - built in a rugged and poetic landscape. The population of the greater Wellington area is 300,000+ and houses are built in the most surprising of locations. One highlight was going to the wonderful Chocolate Fish Cafe, which is situated in Scorcher Bay, right on the roadside. There are cautionary "Waiters Crossing" signs that alert drivers to the fact that waiters cross over the road to serve customers. We had the most amazing blueberry pancakes for brunch at this cafe, and could not pass up their world famous chocolate fish either (pink marshmallow, covered in chocolate... ummm!). Other Wellington highlights for me were seeing Neil Dawson's sculpture "Fern", catching the cable tram, and exploring the cafes and shops. We then caught the Lynx Inter-Islander ferry to Picton, where we commenced our journey of the South Island. We stayed in a a bed and breakfast in Picton for two nights and walked the Snout Track, which forms part of the Queen Charlotte track in the Marlborough Sounds. It was so great to get out in the fresh air - to walk through the forest and arrive at vantages along that way that looked out onto the beautiful shimmering sounds. One of my favourite days was the drive from Geraldine to Queenstown - stopping off at Lake Tekapo, Lake Pukaki, Mount Cook & Twizel. I fell in love with Queenstown and would love to go back there again. I'm thinking of taking my Mum as I think she would love it, and it would be good for us to have a holiday together.

Since returning to Brisbane, I have had quite a few lovely expeditions to various exhibitions, with my friend Elle. One weekend we went to the Queensland Art Gallery and saw a Fiona Hall retrospective covering her art from 1988-2005. We also saw Ron Mueck's 8ft sculpture of a pregnant woman, which was quite freaky in its anatomy and detail.

Work is going well and I'm quite happy on that front. I've been involved with in a Queensland Government wide survey into Work, Family and Lifestyle Balance which is interesting. I'm also working on a few interesting projects including development of our new HR intranet and the development of new Corporate Induction Program. So work wise I'm very busy and inspired at the moment.