More bikers

My crazy friend Joe brought another guest to stay on Tuesday as part of his biking and hiking tour. She seems to be surviving better than most - his tours really are pretty "adventurous"　in that often they consist of biking for long distances, climbing big mountains then biking some more to that night's accommodation. Not for the faint hearted, but definitely a way to see the countryside of Japan (I can think of better ways....).

Since I have come to Japan I have learned a lot about New Zealand. Strange but true! I guess we just take for granted what we have in our own country and don't often think too much about the way we do things until we see a different way or are asked a question relating to our country. This month I have to do some teaching at a school where they want me to teach them all about New Zealand... today it was a quiz and in the process of making it I discovered a whole lot about New Zealand frogs... yes I have a bit of a fascination with frogs considering we have so many living all around us here! Anyway, it turns out that unlike here the frog population is somewhat under threat. It also turns out that there are 4 species of native frogs in New Zealand, one of which (Archey's frog) is pretty special because it doesn't go through a tadpole stage at all - it's eggs hatch straight out into frogs.... With the estimated population of these frogs down to less than 1,000 and the fact that they are highly camouflaged you are less than likely to come across one sitting around on your clothesline. I guess if you want that you will need to come and see us here!
Just a little bit of pointless information for you to fill in time before the big event this Saturday.... 7-5-3! Stay tuned for more information!