Water and Books
As we have been travelling around NZ we have noticed the abundance of swimming pools and libraries. I once read an account from a backpacker who said public libraries and swimming pools where a haven for the traveller. I know what they mean now. Even though we had super weather when we were being hippies for 2+ months is was great to be able to pop into a public library, curl up on a sofa and read for a while. We noticed Jess found it very comforting too. As we were trying to keep her schooling going while we travelled it was great to pop into the library and get her reading some of the starter books. Its certainly paid off as she is doing really well at her new school.
What amazed us was even the smallest wee town had a good library. We saw a library the size of a garden shed in Glen Orchy! But well used by the township. They are also very well stocked with loads of books, DvDs and "MAGAZINES" - yes I have kept up with my celebrity fix due to the fab magazines. I've been told that buying books and mags in NZ is expensive so most people are heavy users of their local library.
Onto pools. Good quality pools are all over the place. NZ, like Oz takes swimming very seriously and all kids are really encouraged and helped to swim well. The amount of time we have spent swimming in the sea, lakes and rivers makes us pleased we got Jess swimming well early on. Yesterday she had a swimming test at our local pool so they can assess her and decide which lesson she should be in. This never happened in London, yet is standard practice in NZ. And of course nearly all pools have good cafes - so my daily fix of a "flat white"is met.
What amazed us was even the smallest wee town had a good library. We saw a library the size of a garden shed in Glen Orchy! But well used by the township. They are also very well stocked with loads of books, DvDs and "MAGAZINES" - yes I have kept up with my celebrity fix due to the fab magazines. I've been told that buying books and mags in NZ is expensive so most people are heavy users of their local library.
Onto pools. Good quality pools are all over the place. NZ, like Oz takes swimming very seriously and all kids are really encouraged and helped to swim well. The amount of time we have spent swimming in the sea, lakes and rivers makes us pleased we got Jess swimming well early on. Yesterday she had a swimming test at our local pool so they can assess her and decide which lesson she should be in. This never happened in London, yet is standard practice in NZ. And of course nearly all pools have good cafes - so my daily fix of a "flat white"is met.
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