The land of sheep and chocolate

Saturday, September 16, 2006

We're Levin It!

Its three weeks since I last wrote anything and in that time Jo and Lily have arrived and we have settled in to our new house. There's far more to say than I can possibly begin to write in the time available so lets just say that I am pleased to see them and leave it at that.

The task of furnishing the house has begun in earnest and for the last couple of weekends we have shuttled between various department stores but mostly we have trawled around Levin's branch of The Warehouse, which seems to be some kind of national institution in much the same way that Tesco's is at home. It is a bit like a downmarket version of Ikea crossed with Poundstretcher. Every town seems to have one and it sells absolutely everything. You might say its killing the high street, but when it comes to sorting your house out, it gives the Kiwi consumer what they want.

What this does mean is that we haven't really explored what the district has to offer. The 30-mile long (windswept) beach remains unexperienced and we haven't ventured into the bush reserve or up the mountain path. We have been down the coast to Paraparaumu (you pronounce it like it is spelt), but only to go to the shops. We did venture down to the beach and the locally famous Marine Parade. Here, shops and cafe's face the sea, behind a short stretch of sand-dunes. The water was turquoise, the waves were gentle and the views across the strait to Kapiti island were stunning. However, the wind was up and when the wind blows around here it really goes for it. It wasn't a day for taking in the sea air and besides, the clock was ticking; shops here close at 4 on Saturday and I had a fence to buy.

Jo is settling into life here and has made positive noises about the house, much to my relief. We both really like the town. It has lots of parks including two huge play areas for Lily, and wide open streets without too much traffic. Jo has been to the play group and we have been invited over to tea at one of the other Mum's place. So, the early progress is good and we are are liking it.

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