Back again
We're back, unpacked, and the cats are back too; in fact, I'm typing around Claudia. They do make up for holidays being over, and so does having broadband again - Internet, I missed you! All I had time for down there was answering comments and having a quick very slow flick through my flist. Now I'll be able to go back and read stories and look at photos and vids.
I'm relieved we didn't go up north this year. They got three months of rain in 36 hours, people and whole towns are cut off, and the motel by the Haruru Falls has mostly been swept away. :-( It was lucky no one was killed. And anyway, I have now discovered the delights of Taupo: lake, mountains, an excellent cinema, and considerably lower humidity due to being 340 m / 1000 ft above sea level. I'll definitely go back.
Claudia has gone off to check everything's as she left it, and now I've got Tessa, purring with contentment. :-)