Roo meat

Feb 25 - Kangaroo burgers for dinner - a barbie! A fitting way to send off the two Kiwi troublemaking brothers. They're off to Melbourne tomorrow.

Strawberry happiness

Feb 24 - I have so many of these amusing photos of Jamie. He hates photos. Every photo he's in looks like he's having the worst time ever!

Lake Mulwala

Feb 23 - Lake Mulwala. We took this boat out for an hour - it was great. Lunch on the lake! Lake Mulwala is north of Shepparton - it's in Yarrawonga-Mulwala.

Why bother....

Feb 22 - Why bother spending money on cats when all they really want is a discarded box to sleep in?
I'm learning. 

Winery trails

Feb 21 - Today we did a winery trail around Nagambie. Fowles Wines, lunch at Tahbilk and then a look around Mitchellton. Followed by a bit of attempted off-roading in an old car not designed for off-roading! A great day!!

Serenity

Feb 20 - Lake Eildon. The second of two stops today - the first being Mt Wombat. Again, lots of driving but lots of natural Australian beauty to see!! 

Blue skies in Bendigo

Feb 19 - A busy day of sightseeing today - lots of driving. But enjoying seeing new things and doing some exploring! Yesterday we did Benalla and Winton Wetlands; today Echuca, Kyabram, Bendigo and Lake Eppalock. 

Strange beauty

Feb 18 - This is Winton Wetlands near Benalla. A strange looking place with all of the leafless trees but pretty stunning.......

Siblings....

Feb 17 - Just realised how short I look next to my brother. I still think of him as my "little brother" but he's so tall now!! Has just turned 24! 

Pelicans!

Feb 16 - This is Nagambie's pelican at Lake Nagambie. I'm not too sure yet of the history of pelicans in the area but I hope to find out.

Jaffas in Melbourne

Feb 15 - My two brothers - William and Jamie have come to visit. They'd like to think they could be Melbournites. One thing at a time! 

You are what you eat

Feb 14 - I've been told today by the doctor that I need to improve my eating habits. So I need to start thinking about new (and healthier!) ways to eat and prepare food. I've got to start eating more fish!!!

Open sesame

Feb 13 - I got these flowers from the supermarket as buds and it's so cool to be able to watch them open. So beautiful!!

Cleo!

Feb 12 - Little Cleo. There's a look of determination there. I'll try not to flood this blog with too many cat photos!

Open road

Feb 11 - I don't miss the Auckland traffic at all. I used to spend so much time stuck on the motorway each day getting to and from work. Shepparton is great - it takes me 5-10 mins to get to work.

Tatura Teacups

Feb 10 - I found this cute teacup in a secondhand shop in Tatura. Maybe I should start a collection.....
It makes me happy! 

Moooving Art

Feb 9 - Another mandatory photo as part of any Shepparton-related blog - a photo of the cows. These are all over the city, painted in all different ways. Wouldn't a piece of fruit be a better town icon? Shepparton is the home of SPC fruit.

Good friends

Feb 8 - My good Kiwi friend Michelle came to visit and check out Shepparton. She's been on a road trip with her sister, who lives in Melbourne, around Victoria. She's now carrying on to South East Asia :)

Floranova

Feb 7 - I thought this flower was kind of cool and worth a photo after I watered the garden :)

Waitangi Day

Feb 6 - Waitangi Day! I just found these little Maori-style badges which I was given as I was leaving NZ. The left one is of a taniwha/water spirit/guardian. It makes me think of the taniwha song!

One day a taniwha Went swimming in the moana He whispered in my taringa "Won't you come along with me There such a lot to see Underneath the deep blue sea."  I said "Oh, no, no, no! You'd better go, go, go, Although I know we could be friends. My Mama's waiting for me Underneath the kowhai tree Taniwha, haere ra!"

Tetahi taniwha Kauhoe i te moana Kohimu i taku taringa "Kia haere taua Tipi haere tirotiro I raro i te moana." Ka mea au "Kao, kao, kao! Me haere, haere koe Ahakoa he hoa taua. Tatari ana taku Mama Kei raro i te rakau kowhai Taniwha, haere ra."

Thankyou!!!

Feb 5 - I work with a really lovely bunch of people who took me out for dinner this week and presented me with not one birthday cake, but three!! so spoilt!! Thankyou!! 

Growing pains

Feb 4 - Please grow little plants! I'll take another photo of this in a month or so and see if there's an amazing difference. 

Koalas and kangaroos

Feb 3 - I was very excited to see a koala in the flesh today at the Kyabram Fauna Park. Admittedly, a lot of the animals were sleeping or half-asleep but that's okay....it was a hot day.

The food bowl of Victoria

Feb 2 - A photo blog about my year would not be complete without a photo of SPC....Shepparton Preserving Company. There's different parts to the building - this is the packing house. Shepparton's the perfect place for me given that I'm crazy about peaches and summer fruit. YUM.

Month two....

Feb 1 - I feel like I should write something inspiring here about never giving up and how beautiful things can come from unexpected places (ie. the flower emerging from the bricks) but this was just a photo I took.