Crossing the Cook Strait

Well here we are back in our point of origin nearly 6 months after we headed off last year and the days have been flying past.  So much so that, as you see, this is a couple of weeks late ... it was a toss up whether to just combine the May and June updates or be good and write one for May.  Being good won and I thought I'd get this one done before the month is up at least :)

The bus parked up in Kaikoura ... it really is a great space to be

We have left the South Island for a while and are up in Kapiti for me to do something teaching of Infant Massage.  It has be wonderful getting to have two great groups of mum's and bubs to teach and the kids are enjoying catching up with friends ... but I digress as that is June and I'm meant to be catching you all up with May.  May was very eventful for us, which is probably why I keep thinking about the present good times, with Daniel having two trips to A & E for 2 different head injuries.  I'm almost at the point of buying some headgear for himself I can tell you!!!  The first incident was a stick to the head which was accidentally mis-aimed by his sister  ... the worst of it was that I was in the middle of taking a photo of the idyllic scene of siblings helping each other carry wood to create their dam when herself decided that firing the wood ahead would be easier than carrying it!  Luckily, though there was lots of blood, there was not much of a hole in the top of his head.

Happy, with the mentioned stick, before the crash came.

Fixing the dam once the head was feeling better.

The next trip to A and E in Kaikoura was a little more dramatic and came after a lovely Mother's day lunch.  The poor wee thing in his eagerness to get back to his morse code key, after tapping out 'Hi Mummy' and coming to tell us, ran out of the bus door and straight into the locker door which had been left open.  The force of the blow split his forehead open, bruised his nose and lip then threw him back onto the stones where he cut the back of his head.  It was a huge shock for all of us!! Why do heads bleed so much??  Anyway, after thinking he had got his eye, Liam and I were very relieved to see that it was his head. It was another quick trip down to the hospital for them to assess the whole thing, glue his head together and give him some pain relief.  Poor wee thing was very tender for a long time and even now little bumps feel much bigger than they should.  Accidents aside he is really getting interested in electronics and has been buying all sorts of things from the dump shop in Kaikoura to be able to pull apart and make new things with.  Getting the morse code key to make a noise was a big highlight for him and now he is been working on getting a homemade radio to go.  It is great to see him tinkering away, experimenting and solving problems as they come up.

Himself with his morse code key before the next big crash.

Hospital visit aside we made a couple of quick trips down to Christchurch to see Nan which was really nice.  Being parked up in Kaikoura for 9 weeks straight was certainly giving me itchy feet and a grumpy head!!  Thankfully as soon as the bus got going I could feel the smile return to my face and a weight lift of my heart ... clearly I am a born wanderer - I'll save less complementary ways of describing my life-style to your imagination ;).  Then of course there was the trip up here at the end of the month. The trip down to Christchurch and up to Picton is certainly much longer with the State Highway closed so it was a 2 day trip for us to get to the ferry rather than the usual 2 hour trip it would have been last year.  It did mean that we got to stay at the Rotherham Hotel again which himself was more than happy about and also to see a few sight on the way like the Maruia Falls.  It is great being able to rock up somewhere and have everything you need with you.

Maruia Falls

Snow on a weekend trip down to Nan's

Herself has also been busy, thankfully not visiting hospital, going to the local Guides each week and completing a load of badges for her Aotearoa Guides.  She also found some material in the local second hand shop and decided to make herself a dress.  I was so impressed at her determination to get it done!  She made a pattern, cut it all out, hand-stitched the edges and then hand stitched it all together.  It was a 2 day project and I could see just how proud she was of herself too which was the best thing about it.  She has worn it quite a few times since and been enjoying the fruits of her labours.

Busy hand sewing her dress

The finished product

Well that will have to be it for now as the tea is waiting for me to serve it up so we can get Daniel to cubs.  The only thing left to say is a brief comment about starting winter in the bus ....before coming up to Kapiti we had a few cold, frosty mornings so it has been great having a bit of warmth up here.  Liam has been having to acclimatize weekly as he works in Kaikoura weekdays and joins us over the weekend.  Not sure how we will cope once we get back down south come July but that will be another story in a few months time!  Until then I hope this finds you all happy, healthy and injury free.

Arohanui
Y

April in Kaikoura

What a beautiful April we have had in Kaikoura.  Sure there has been a bit of rain and wind at times however on the whole there have been far more glorious days of sunshine. The kids have been loving exploring the paddocks here and getting out and about and I've been enjoying a bit of peace and quiet while they are off the bus ;)

The rhythm of life definately changes a bit when you are in one spot for a while.  We are not feeling such the tourist or holiday maker rather a temporary local.  I have begun to be recognized and greeted in the supermarket and we have been included in a few local groups which has been great.  The days are much slower paced too when there are not all the sight-seeing attractions luring you in.

This month we have also been on a couple of big day tramps with the kids and enjoyed the company of locals in the great outdoors.  We also joined in with the local Anzac Day parade which was by far the best I have been to, it may have been the horses that pushed it over for me though ;)

Here are a few photos from the month that was.

Playing in the rain puddles

Rainy day fun making card houses

Our once a week mission to go empty the tanks in the bus

Daniel tramping on Mt Fyffe

Herself up Mt Fyffe

Half way up Mt Fyffe

Kaikoura Tramping Club .... including the Fay Family

Tramping up the Jordan Valley, along the Hope fault 

Waiting for the Anzac Day parade to begin

Another tooth gone and another visit from the tooth fairy.

Arohanui
Y

March Update

Late again I know!! It is strange how fast the days fly by and yet it feels like we have been on the road for way longer than 4 months.  We have done so much in that time and visited so many great places.

At the moment we are parked up in Kaikoura, in himself's dream location of a pub which has Guinness on tap, while Liam is doing some work for Kiwirail.  The kids are loving being out in the paddocks beside us, finding frogs, watching birds, playing in mud and generally being kids :) We have been included in a few local activities which has been awesome and  Jasmine has been going to Guides here so it has been good to meet a few locals, of course parking up in a big Green bus in a popular pub camping spot is also helping us to been known.

Most of our March has been the trip from Invercargill, via the West Coast, to our current spot and hanging here.  We have been luckily enough to have some amazing weather to make up for the current rain and wind (thanks to the tail-end of Debby) which have allowed us to do a bit of walking and exploring.  We headed up to Mt Fyffe hut last weekend which was a long 3 hour steep walk with amazing views.  The kids did such a great job so hopefully we will be able to do a few more in the not too distant future.

It isn't only himself that is working here either as I will be teaching an Infant Massage Course in Kaikoura (beginning next week), have some reflexology clients in the pipeline and have even done a couple of hours helping out in the pub!  I'm most excited about the Infant Massage course I have to say as that is what I was hoping to be able to do on the road ... offer the course to centres which won't normally have such courses.  Plus it makes the effort of storing all my work gear for the last 4 months worth the extra load :)

Anyway it is Friday night and we are heading into the pub for tea soon so on with the photo gallery....

St Patrick's Day Weekend if you please

Enjoying some local Kaikoura walks

Creating bridges and dams

Eating Bluff oysters in Bluff

Stirling point or as I thought when I was younger ... the end of the world!

Learning CPR at an Emergency Services Day in Kaikoura

We made it back to the West Coast ... Lunch at Lake Mahinapua

Lake Moeraki where we were attacked by thousands of mossies overnight.

Mauria Springs .... Love this place

Fishing at Monkey Island

Doing some Cub badge work

And some Guide badge work

Exploring the exposed rocks in Kaikoura

Rainy day projects

Sandy Point with Rakiura (Stewart Island) in the background ... loving Southland

Shantytown school days ... learning about trading and bartering.

Arohanui
Y

February Update from the Fays

I don't think I have ever taken so many photos in one month!!! To think that there were months last year where I only had 10 photos to choose from and now ..... well there is a multitude of choice (sorry the collection below isn't in any particular order ). I can see that it will actually be hard to summarize everything we are doing, exploring, seeing and experiencing.  One of my favourite things though is seeing themselves enjoying nature and interacting with new people so easily.

Leaving Killinchy - My Mum's

Sunset at Fortrose, near Invercargill

Experiencing colonial school life in Okains Bay, Banks Peninsula 

 After beginning the month in Canterbury we have now finished it some 600km south in Invercargill.  It has been a wonderful month to say the least! Some of the highlights include: Chinese New Year Parade in Christchurch, learning Chinese calligraphy from the Chinese community, Waitangi Day in Okains bay, seeing friends and family, meeting new people, collecting wild growing plums in Canterbury, apples in Otago and blackberries in Southland, seeing seals, sea lions and penguins in the wild, finally getting our composting toilet on board (no more stinking journeys!), petrified forests, fossils, caves, ship wrecks, museums galore and tuatara!

Huriawa Peninsula, near Karitane

Fishing at Owaka Yacht Club, Clutha District

Moeraki Boulders

We will be in Invercargill now for a couple of weeks while Liam does a bit of work.  Parking up at the local racecourse is a great spot which has us in walking distance to the laundromat, a community garden (which we volunteered at today and donated our compost collection to) and a playground.  We are also biking distance to town and today the kids and I rode into the museum to see the tuatara. It is a great museum, art gallery and gardens. Thankfully themselves are developing good bike and road sense skills so it wasn't quite as nerve wrecking as it used to be cycling with them in Kapiti! :)

Peel Forest, Canterbury

Bags full of free plums in Opihi, South Canterbury

Ticking off the NZ monopoly board ... Dunedin Train Station

There is a local Environment Centre here too, which is where we found out about the community garden, and the lady running it is homeschooling her nearly 8 year old so we already have an invite to join the local homeschool group for a farm explore/free-play this Friday.  There is also a Chess club at the Environment Centre tomorrow which themselves are looking forward to as their skills improve on that front too.  So nice to find connections with new people and feel included so quickly.  Amazing how living in a bus opens doors for you!

At Slope Point the southern most point of the South Island.

Until next month I hope this finds you all enjoying life.

Arohanui
Y

An action packed January update

It is amazing just how many photos I have taken this month!! For sure we are still feeling in ' this is a great holiday' mode rather than 'this is our life' mode however it still blows me away just how much you can fit into a month without a routine to have to keep to and with your home where ever you venture.

Still in Holiday mode - Banks Peninsula

We have now been on the road for 6 weeks and loving it.  It has not been without a few adjustments, a lot of patience and a bit of head banging however we are getting there and personally I wouldn't swap this life for anything.  Being able to catch up with friends while having our own space close by and watching themselves re-connect with friends, family and places is wonderful.

Canterbury has been our playground for the majority of those 6 weeks and we will still be here for another couple of weeks as Liam is going to do a bit of work for a week in Christchurch.  We have stayed outside some friends in Christchurch, at my Mum's in Leeston, outside some other friends in Christchurch, at Coes Ford and at another friend's place in Davauchelle before returning to Coes Ford.

In Davauchelle

I can see that in writing these updates it is going to be hard to find a way to cover everything so I might have to go with the orderly approach - bullet points for the week and the best photo pick :)

Jan 2 - Jan 8

- House sitting in Christchurch for friends. It was great to be the luxury of a house and yet we did miss the bus.
- BBQ with friends
- Rediscovering the playground I used to play on when I was themselves age.
- The bus began its process to becoming fully road trustworthy

Still the same slide 40 years later

Jan 9 - Jan 15

- More house sitting (for different friends) where the kids raided their berries
- Visiting family
- Catching up with friends in the beautiful Christchurch Botanical gardens
- Lego play for the kids at ' Imagination Station'
- Walked the bridle path
- Canterbury Museum

At the top of the Bridle path

Jan 16 - Jan 22

- Adjusting to Bus life again and lots of chess playing and card games
- Bus made it through all its fixes and got its new COF

On the road again

- Making toys from recycling
- Walking the Rapaki track

Themselves on the Rapaki track

- More friend visits including playgrounds and yummy snacks
- Meeting herself's online guiding leader in Christchurch
- Himself the younger lost another tooth

Another tooth gone

Jan 23 - Jan 29

- Herself turned 10!!

Decorating her cake - seems she didn't trust me to get it right!

- Lunch out with Nan after a manicure for herself
- Stop Motion Movie workshop for themselves and some time to explore the botanical gardens for us
- Biking the Rail trail from Birdlings flat to Little River

Rail trail to Little River

- Staying at a friends place in Duvauchelle with the best view out the rear window yet
- Helping with Milking - Himself the elder that is not I!

The Cow cocky at work

- Exploring Akaroa
- A quick paddle at Okains Bay before visiting the Maori and Colonial Museum there.

Ice Blocks in Okains Bay - nothing better than small town NZ!

And since this week is mostly Feb I will leave it at that :)  I hope this finds you all enjoying the fickle weather the best way you can.


Arohanui
Y