We had a fairly interrupted night's sleep last night as we could hear a helicopter buzzing around. This is very unusual, but we thought it might have been search and rescue trying to find someone. So imagine our surprise this morning when we opened the curtains to see this...
The helicopters that were buzzing us were carrying "monsoon buckets" to help the firefighters douse the flames. The story in the local paper provides more details, and we also sent some photos in under Ian's name. At the time of posting, his was photo 3 (but it may have moved, so scroll through). There's also a video.
Rest assured we are not in danger. The bush is incredibly dry at the moment as we've had a fantastic summer with lots of incredibly hot days, which is unusual for Wellington. While we've appreciated the beautiful weather, this reminds us of the added dangers it brings.
As Ian is in the UK, and Annalie is spending this birthday solo, she decided to treat herself.
The local school had its annual fair on, and one of the things on offer was a helicopter ride around the suburb. What a good idea! She managed to convince our friends Jo and Toby to go too, which was interesting as Toby had never been in a helicopter before!
It was only a short flight, but it provided some new views of our lovely neighbourhood, and beyond, that we don't normally get the chance to see.
Our street is the one that goes up the hill on the right in the photo above.
This is a great view of the Airport and Miramar peninsula.
A great idea and a fab thing to do on a birthday :)
