Roll on September

So August has gone by and I thought it would be a good time to look back at what I have done over eh last month and think about what I want to do over the next one.

August was a good month for me. Mainly because I had family visit from the UK for most of it. It's always good to catch up with family. Since moving to New Zealand I really only get to see family once a year and as I aim to go home every other year I only see the extended family every other year.
This year has been a bit different. I was home for the grand total of 8 days earlier in the year for a funeral, but mum still decided to come over for 25 days.
In the past, my eldest has come along as well but this year he wanted to stay home and hang out with his friends, but then he's 15 now so I guess they are way cooler than going to see dad. This meant that we could do some different things this year. As I didn't have any leave left to me the options for going away were limited but we did manage to do a fair bit.
We did a day on Waiheke Island in Auckland. I have been to the island twice before  but only to the main town by the ferry terminal so it was really nice to go for a look round the rest of the island.

We also spent a weekend in Melbourne. This was my first proper trip to Australia, having only ever transited through Sydney in the past. We spent the weekend exploring the main town center. It's always interesting to see how things run in other places.

Melbourne's Tram network is very reliable and easy to use. The city itself is very nice and even though it was winter we were very luck with the weather. The only time it really rained we were inside, on the whole, it was warm enough to sit outside and eat even in the evenings.

Mum also spent a fair amount of time touring around Auckland Region and sightseeing around the town.
Looking towards September I want to get back out with the Jousting Group a lot more. I'd also like to try and get out at least once to go scuba diving. It's been a long-term plan to go at least once a month and so far I have failed. This summer I want to make a much bigger effort, so we shall see.