Sorry so long

Howdy all, been a while since I've rapped at ya so here we go.

Well...term 4 of school is upon us and in only 6 weeks I will be free of this place. Nice! Things have been busy for about the last 5 weeks though as there is so much to get done before the end of school.

Mom and Dad were here from September 22 to October 17. It was great seeing some familiar faces and reverting back to childhood (sometimes it's nice not to be the most responsible person in the room.) We loaded up Warrick (my car) and put on about 4500km touring the South and North Islands. It was good to get back down South and see some friends and familiar places. I think the parents really enjoyed the trip.

The first week back to school I was fortunate to be asked to tag along with 3 students from my school to the inaugaural Kiwi Forever program in Tongariro National Park. We had some wild weather - from brilliant sunshine, to wicked wind and snow - but it was really great hanging out with a bunch of passionate, dedicated students. They got to release a Kiwi chick into the Karioi Rahui the day after I left and some are making a presentation to the Bank of New Zealand for more funding today.

Last weekend another teacher and I took a group of students for a tramp into Pureora State Forest Park. It was a pretty leisurely walk in and out but it is always nice to go bush.

This weekend it is Guy Fawkes weekend. There will be heaps of fireworks all over the place. Jess and I are hitting up a friend's ACDC themed party on Saturday in the Kaimai's. Fireworks, Lemon trees, '80s get-ups...should be fun.

I'm going to keep it on the rails though - in fact, no drinking at all! - because I am running another half marathon the following weekend in Napier. My goal is to run a sub-2 hour half marathon. This will be my last race for the year.

I'm also in the midst of planning a trip back to Aussie for the summer holidays. The plan is to fly to Cairns, then Darwin, do an Outback Safari from Darwin to Alice Springs, fly to Brisbane, bus up to the Whitsundays, cruise around there, then back to Cairns to dive the Great Barrier Reef. I'm there for a total of 21 days so it will be a whirlwind but it encompasses everything else that I want to see in Oz - Ayers Rock, Kakadu National Park, White-sand beaches, and the reef.

Well, that's all on my plate and the leftovers in my fridge I guess. Take care everyone. More to come when I have more time.