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Although we were told that the weather was very mild , we found it quite warm enough . Now the kids are grown up it seems less relevant . Head Smashed In buffalo jump ( now a UNESCO world heritage site ) , the world-famous Dinosaur Museum at Drumheller ( signposted on a highway far away as " Museum : 176 Km " which we always reckon just about sums up the culture scene in Alberta - - or used to ) , the cowboy museum at Cochrane . It 's the biggest family time in the calendar , and being " home for Thanksgiving " is even more important than being home for Christmas . Really not time for much more than a Bach sonata and a BBQ as they were on the last leg of a NZ holiday , but we were glad they called in . We put into Whangerei further up the east coast and spent the next three days or so riding out the cyclone at the town pier , eating pizza and drinking cappuccino in the nearby restaurant . She has been much more motivated by her work this year than she ever was at school , and although we do n't yet know her final results she seems to be doing well . There was a huge variety of need amongst these children , ranging from Down 's syndrome and autism to severe intellectual and physical disability . Hobart , in particular , is a most attractive small city , with a mountain towering over it that you can drive up and look down from-not unlike Cape Town , in fact . Great Barrier has an enormous , and very sheltered , harbour called Port Fitzroy , not unlike Strangford Lough in N. Ireland where Ian learned to sail as a child - - but with far more dramatic scenery . Although we have spent many Thanksgivings in Canada , it 's quite different in the US . She lives in a flat with seven Kiwi guys ( just as she did in London ) , and ( unlike London ) they barbecue on the beach every week . ) Unlike Pippa and John this was not his first trip , and he came for the sailing . Although you may find it hard to believe , we did n't spend all our time sailing . She drove two close friends and a girl visiting from Scotland up north for a weekend of relaxation . The Tasmanian countryside is often likened to New Zealand , and in many ways it is-but when you get a gentle scenic vista , it 's more often than not dotted attractively with gum trees rather than cleared and farmed . Around Hobart are dozens of small bays with three or four sailboats moored in each-even more attractive than Auckland , where yachts tend to congregate in a few large marinas . And the kids cleaned everything up themselves . It was a great experience , a great ending to our six months traveling work-holiday ( one of us was working , the other holidaying ; guess which ) , and a great alternative way to celebrate Christmas than sitting at home sans kids , a twosome with a turkey . Talking of the volcano - - although Ruapehu is only a couple of hours drive from us and can be seen from the top of Hamilton 's tallest building ( a mere seven stories ) , life was not in the least affected by the eruptions except that the airport was sometimes closed at night because of drifting , incredibly gritty , volcanic ash in the upper atmosphere . There are three women amongst 500 employees , and probably the same number of Hispanics and African-Americans .