Last Saturday before we started in the motels (on the Sunday) was marathon and Mistletoe Market Day in Blenheim. The marathon brought lots of people to town and the market got many of them opening their wallets. There was a big variety of stalls. It was interesting to see the ones which were doing the best. It was a chance for some Christmas shopping and many were taking advantage of it. Continue reading
Wow! The hot weather continues. We’ve just finished another short spell at the motels and it was hot again. Sunday hit 30 degrees and Monday topped 31 degrees. She’s a funny old spring in these parts. Blenheim sure seems to be warm. That’s now 5 days in the 30s in less than a month. On both hot days it was necessary to limit outside jobs in the afternoon – the sun was burning. Them ol’ UV rays were raining down. Continue reading
Monday at Cowshed Bay near Portage on Kenepuru Sound was a bit of a catch-up day. We had a few emails to sort out and some planning to do. There are worse spots to spend a Monday. We were keen to have a walk. The most obvious walk was one way or the other along the Queen Charlotte track. The thing was that it was marked as one where you have to pay for a permit to walk. Even for an hour or so. We were debating the merits of having to pay to walk on tracks. While I am oppose to the concept, I was keen to try out the permit system to make a nuisance of myself. Wyn just wanted to go for a walk. We eventually decided to go for a walk around the road. Continue reading
Sunday 21 November we woke to the sounds of the birds at Cowshed Bay near Portage on Kenepuru Sound. It looked like we’d come to the right place to relax. It was an overcast morning but warm enough. Well after breakfast we walked along the road to Portage. It is only about 400m away. There is no concession to walkers on the road – and there are frequently walkers coming to and from the Queen Charlotte Track. There is no shoulder in places and you have to be prepared to jump for your life if a vehicle comes along at the wrong places. Continue reading
So there we were, loaded up and heading for The Sounds. The Sounds is a lovely big place. I saw somewhere where the coastline of The Sounds is 1400 kms. That’d be a lot of exploring. We’d wanted somewhere not too far from Blenheim, not least because we were well into the afternoon by the time we got away. We’d previously been to Whatamango (past Picton) and Aussie Bay and Anakiwa (all on Queen Charlotte Sound) and Elaine Bay on Pelorous Sound. We were keen for a bit of exploring so decided to head to Portage on Kenepuru Sound. The road is sealed all the way and there is a DoC camp there at Cowshed Bay where we could stay. Continue reading
On November 10th we packed up some clothes and a few other essential items and moved into the motels to start work. It always seems a bit strange to be moving out of Suzi. It was a lovely calm sunny morning – a sign of weather to come. Wendy and John were off to Melbourne, via Christchurch. They had a few things to sort out but eventually they were on their way and we were on our own. Thanks to the 5-day spell at the start of the month it didn’t take us long to get back into the routines. Continue reading
After our short (5-day) spell at the motels in early November we retired to park up at the Racecourse. Friends Rudy and Heather crossed over from Wellington and parked up nearby. We invited them over for tea and had a good catchup. We noticed that they had bikes with them so dusted off ours. It was more a case of brushing off the cobwebs to be honest. We all headed off for a ride up the Taylor River. There is a good long concrete path up both sides of the river. Later we drove around a few of the wineries over near Renwick and then it was time for fish and chips for tea. Continue reading
Saturday was 27 November. Two years ago we saw Suzi for the first time at the Traillite yard in Pukekohe. And spent our first night in our new motorhome. Ah.. the excitement. Finding out how everything worked. Wondering how everything would go. Plans for the next few months. Wondering what would happen to us. No big plans.
And here we are, two years down the road. 18,000 kms down the road. No big plans. Wondering what will happen to us. In some ways it seems that’s the point in being gypsies. There’s not much point in freedom if you go and plan it all ahead. Things turn up and things work out. It’s not exactly Diceman. Or maybe it’s Diceman without the dice. Continue reading
It has been interesting to watch the anger turn from being directed towards the Police to being directed towards the news media. And not just all the media but against the Australian media in particular. See stuff .co.nz . Jeez, even the politicians are getting in on the bandwagon. Since when did politicians get to be judges of boorish behaviour? They may be experts but talk about the pot calling the kettle black. Continue reading
It has been a terrible week with the Pike River Coal mine explosion and disaster. And now with the second explosion and acceptance that there will be no survivors comes finality. We all dislike the intrusions of the news media yet it is this same intrusion that has enabled us all to share in the news and to share in the grief. Somehow this media machine is maintaining and highlighting a national sense of community. We don’t like them intruding on the grief of people and families. Yet somehow this allows us to grieve with them and for them. Continue reading
Back to Blenheim after Labour weekend there was a few days work to be done on motel accounts with GST rearing it’s head. Then at the end of October we began another 5-day stint of motel minding. After a couple of months break we had to rapidly gear up for working but soon slipped back into our routines. Not far from the motels and adjacent to the downtown part of Blenheim is Seymour Square. It’s a block of gardens and park, with a fountain in the middle and a clock tower on one side. The council does a good job planting the flower beds which were in full bloom by the end of October. Continue reading
We’re back in Blenheim after three wonderful days at Portage. We made it last as long as we could, only leaving at 6pm last evening. We’re waking to another lovely Blenheim day and things to be done. I’m trying to be a better blogger and am trying to get caught up as well. Mind you there’s a bunch more photos to be sorted now. I took about 150 yesterday. That’s part of my problem. With digital cameras there’s not much restraint on how many photos can be taken. And then there’s the not inconsiderable time period called Last Winter where we had a few interesting adventures….
Retreating from Whites Bay and the roadworkings, we occupied one of the orderly motorhome bays at the DoC camp at the north end of Rarangi Beach. It doesn’t have a lot of ambience but it is level and it is close to the beach. The beach is a stony one, and so is the camp. The weather for Labour Weekend was supposed to be good but somehow Saturday failed to clear so we didn’t see any sun. We managed to walk over to the beach in the morning. We got more adventurous in the afternoon and walked along the roadside to Bluegum Corner, checking out the houses and the beach on the way. Continue reading
After our morning walk in Pollard Park in Blenheim we spent the evening minding the motels so that Wendy and John could get out for tea. Next day we headed out to Whites Bay to beat the rush for Labour Weekend. We beat the rush all right, there was nobody else there. We were disappointed to see that most of the lower area was closed off – they were in the middle of some major earthworks. We checked with a DoC guy who said it was OK to park anywhere so we parked close to the beach on one of the few bits of grass available. Continue reading
Once upon a time – or 18 October to be precise – we arrived back in Blenheim. The weather was fine and spring was in the air. The Wither Hills were green and the blossom trees were blossoming. We parked up at the racecourse and visited Wendy and John for tea. We lay low for a day enjoyed a walk around Pollard Park the next day. There is a good circuit from the Racecourse around the edge of the adjacent golf course and then through Pollard Park and back around the other side of the golf course. Pollard Park is Blenheim’s gardens. Continue reading
