April Update from us lot

Our April began with a bit of a bang .... literally .... a bang to the wrist for Daniel when he fell of some monkey bars which ended up with us in Taumarunui Hospital on Easter Sunday (1st April) getting xrays and a cast on.  It took a while for us to convince the doctor to get x-rays however as there was no swelling and he still had some movement.  We have come to learn over Daniel's many breaks that this is normal for him so insisted and reluctantly the doctor came to tell us we were correct in guessing a break.

Taumarunui ... no April Fools joke unfortunately

In usual Daniel style though it didn't slow him down and we continued with our plans to head along 'The Forgotten World Highway' from Taumarunui to Stratford.  This was an amazing journey with hardly any other traffic, thankfully as the road wasn't that wide!, which wound us through native bush, quiet farmland and the Republic of Whangamomona.  Visiting the Republic has long been on my list of things to do since reading about it a few years back and their president 'Billy Gumboot the Goat' (yes, an actual goat) so it was a great highlight to get a stamp in our passports and have some lunch before returning to New Zealand.

Themselves playing in Whanganui River near Taumarunui - note the plastic bag for D's cast

Whangamomona

From there we reached Taranaki and had a great time catching up with family in New Plymouth before slowly making our way around the back of Mt Taranaki.  To make the most of the trip we began watching a 'New Zealand Land Wars' DVD so that we had a bit more background information on the sites we were visiting.  There were so many pa and historic sites that it would be hard to list them all however seeing Parihaka for the first time held a special place, hopefully we can come back to visit it for the International Peace Festival one year.  Taranaki pulled out all stops as far as weather went and we had the extremes from shorts and jandels to gumboots and jackets in the couple of weeks we were there.  Thankfully we missed the mini tornado that hit just kilometres north of us and while the winds blew and the lightening struck we remained warm, safe and with power in our bus.

Dawson Falls in Taranaki

Sunset at Tataraimaka Pa

Cape Egmont lighthouse and Mt Taranaki

Opunake before the storm

Into Whanganui for a new cast, along with a random catch-up with a few road-schoolers and a friend of Liam's, then we cut across the country heading for the East coast.  It has been great taking the back roads to places and our route towards Hastings was no different.  We received a warm welcome in Makuri, found the birth place of the person who discovered DNA had a double helix structure in Pongaroa, played some pool on a round table in Wimbleton, got blown inside out in Herbertville, visited the longest place name in the world, had the most peaceful night yet in Elsthorpe and were treated to free running ponies and trains in Otane before arriving in Havelock North. With the end of the month nigh we are parked up in a beachside settlement enjoying a catch up with friends, munching on feijoas and sea scapes galore. 

Entertaining themselves in Makuri

Wimbleton Hotel

Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu

Thankfully with only had trains in the daytime while in Otane!

Cape Kidnappers Gannet Colony

Until next month, be happy, healthy and snuggle up

Arohanui
Y

Off on Our Adventures again

I'm writing this as we stop in Ohakune for lunch, and the obligatory look at the big carrot of course, on our way to family in Raetihi.  Yes, we are back on the road again after almost 2 months parked up in Kāpiti.

Playing on the beach in Kāpiti

Kāpiti Island out the back window

 It was great being able to have a base for a while and see the kids enjoying time with their friends in Kāpiti.  It was also really great to be able to tick off a few more things that we wanted to do such as walk the Paekakriki to Pukerua Bay section of Te Ara Roa, visit the Paekakariki Museum, run a healing hands workshop, get my class 2 (truck) licence and catch up with lots of friends and family.  The down side was getting headlice (the first time for the kids and my second since childhood) after himself jnr went to a cub camp, which was a bit of a nightmare on a bus I have go say!! So grateful to our lovely friend for letting us occupy her shower for such a long time to wash out all that oil and paraffin concoction.  Somehow Liam managed to miss the whole event by being in Australia ..... his timing is always uncanny ;)

Te Ara Roa - Paekakariki to Pukerua Bay

Since hitting the road we have be taking a leisurely pace up the North Island and planning our stops with showers to fit the re-treatment schedule of headlice - arrghh!  We have made our way up the Wairarapa this time, through Rangitikei and into Ruapehu District.  We recently got a D.O.C (Dept. of Conservation) pass and it has been awesome to be able to park up in nature a bit more. There have been plenty of dog friendly sites which has made a big difference especially when there are tracks there also.  I think Holdsworth has been my favourite so far.  Themselves especially have been making the most of swimming in every river they can, which considering it is almost April is pretty impressive!

Bucks Rd DOC camp, Featherston

Swimming in Menzies Ford, Feilding

With Easter weekend upon us we have been enjoying homemade hot-cross buns (my adapted vegan recipe) and themselves are hanging out for their Easter present and chocolate tomorrow!  Clearly their thoughts are all in one direction at the moment as their lego creation yesterday was the Easter Bunny no less ;)  Thank goodness for Dark chocolate being vegan I say.

Happy Easter!

Hope this finds you all happy and healthy until next month.

Arohanui
Y

Back in the North Island

Here we are .... back where we started our adventure over a year ago, back on the Kāpiti Coast, catching up with friends and family along with a bit of work. The weather has been a bit up and down with two cyclones passing through though that hasn't stopped us yet.  That is the great thing about life on a bus, we can always move on from the bad weather. ;)

At Glenfalls Road Schooling Camp

 This has been the month of camps for us, we headed to the Unschooling Retreat camp in Foxton beach at the start of the month and then to a Road-schooling camp in Hawke's Bay later in the month. Along with all that catching up it has been lovely to meet a few new friends enjoying a similar lifestyle to ours.   The kids had a whale of a time at both playing with all the other kids there.  This weekend is the first in which we are not busy and it has been nice to catch up on all those little jobs around the bus.

Can you pick our bus?  There were a few ;)

Themselves earned a bit of cash by selling their old books, popcorn and clothes

The Road schooling camp would have to be a highlight for me.  The children quickly got in together and played, explored, created, swam, gathered blackberries and generally had a ball of a time from dawn till dusk.  All that play enabled us adults to actually relax and catch up with others who were on the road, sharing our experiences, what worked, what didn't and most importantly how to remedy those things that didn't work!  We also had a great opportunity to go up to a local farm and learn about how he was raising his herd and best of all have a go at hand milking.  Himself declined due to his vegan principles however herself was in there and actually very good at it!  She enjoyed it so much that we ventured up the next morning for her to have a second go.

Milking Saffe up on a local farm near Glenfalls camp.

The Lego tent on Roadschooling camp was a big hit .... Daniel's stash and our tent put to good use.

The kids have been enjoying heading back to their Cub and Guide groups while we are here in Kāpiti so that they can tick off a few more badges.  It is great seeing how well they slot back into these groups after 6 months away and wonderful how welcoming the leaders and other members are.  All their adventures with us and on camp has made a few of their clauses easy to tick off thankfully.  They are both determined to get all their badges before the move up to Scouts and Rangers next year.

Trying paddle boarding in Foxton

Themselves were pretty impressive navigating the boards

We also managed to head into Wellington for the Lego exhibition at Te Papa which had themselves riveted for hours.  They both created really cool pyramids as you can see below.  Before we left we had a look at the Gallipoli display which is absolutely amazing and well worth a visit.  Themselves went about 6 months ago with Liam however it was my first time and it definitely left a strong impression.  It was hard to tear them away from Te Papa, despite hunger gnawing away at us, as they love that space so much ;)

  

We will be here in Kāpiti for the next few weeks though the time goes so quickly when you're having fun! Hopefully we'll get in a few walks on the local tracks along with a bit more fun with friends .... until next month I hope this finds you happy, healthy and enjoying the life you have.

Arohanui
Y

A long hot January

As I'm sitting here in the shade of a tree, thankfully, writing this blog I'm amazed at how fast this month has gone .... and how hot it has been.  Only the last week or so to be truthful have been that hot for us as we have baked in our little tin can. ;)  Nothing that river swims, cool drinks and the shade of a tree hasn't sorted though.

At Shag Point ... can't get much closer to the sea I think1

We began the New Year in All Day's bay, just south of Oamaru, which is a great spot right on the beach.  Themselves loved being out on the beach all day although it was in jackets, gumboots and hats due to a freezing wind blowing the entire time!  After this we took some time to see a few sights that we missed last time down there like actually going inside Larnach's Castle, Totara Estate, Hayes Engineering and St Bathan's.  It was a lot of going back in time and seeing how life used to be for some inspiring and enterprising early settlers.

Our set up to beat the heat in Oturehua - Hayes Engineering 

Enjoying a cool drink in St Bathan's

Then it was back to Mum's in Canterbury so that we could get a new radiator (we had to be filling and emptying bottles left right and centre on our little trip south) and a COF.  It was also a chance to head into National Archives to do a bit more family research and then out to Staveley to see the photos they had out there of  Mum's family. It was great being able to go out there with Mum and to see where Michael Fagan lived. As more comes online the dots are beginning to be joined and it makes me realise I need to re-write the information I have before it gets forgotten .... it is definitely a labour of love and one I really enjoy though ;)

Themselves at Nan's with Midnight the chick

Himself cooking tea - Tince Pie (Tofu minced up)

Cass Station inbetween Porters and Arthurs Pass

Making the most of the local flying fox and swings in Cass

COF in hand we then headed over to the West Coast to catch up with friends and family.  Jasmine had her 11th birthday over there and both kids had a fantastic time catching up with all their home-schooling friends over there.  It is wonderful when you can just meet up with people after ages of little contact and start from where you left off!!  Despite the influx of mossies and sandflies that always appear I do love the Coast and always feel like I've come home in a way. The scenery is some of the best in NZ and the people are a breed unto themselves.  We even got to do some gold panning with a random guy called Possum Pete who got chatting to us!  Not many places that happens anymore that is for sure.

Gold Panning with Possum Pete in Kumara

Herself's birthday picnic

Coming up the coast and into Nelson we have had some great spots to camp up and some awesome rivers for the kids to paddle, swim, explore and play in.  Our favourite though has to be the swimming hole in Murchison where we cooled off before bed on a 33 degreee day.

Coming over the Taramakau Brige - the last rail and road bridge in NZ. The new old is being built now.

View from our door at Tiromoana (just north of Fox River)

Seal Colony at Tauranga Bay

Even as I write this themselves are finding kēwai (fresh water crayfish) in the stream beside us in Wai-iti Domain .... I love watching them explore and discover in this way and so grateful to have our home close by too ;)

Well I'll love you and leave you there until next time.
Arohanui
Y

We've been in the bus for a year!

Well, here we are on the last day of the year parked up just south of Oamaru listening to the waves crash on the beach out one side and the chatter of birds on the lagoon out the other.  It has been a year now since we have been living on the bus!! On the one hand I can hardly believe that we have been on the bus that long then I think 'how did we ever fill a big house with so much stuff?'.

This month not only saw our anniversary of bus-living but has seen us get back onto the road after a good 9 months parked up in Kaikōura.  It is proving to be a time of re-adjusting as we find our new norm again while combining travel, sight-seeing, learning and everyday chores.  It is a work in progress ;)

Before we hit the road though we made the most of our last month in Kaikōura so here are a few photos of the highlights over the last month, in no particular order.

Christmas at Nan's

A few repairs on the go before we left Kaikōura

Tramping up Mt Fyffe

Cards in Mt Fyffe Hut

Mucking around up the Mt

Keeping cool on the farm

Checking out the replica Moa egg at Mt Fyffe House

Leaving Sequoia Farm

Getting ready for Christmas ... I think the facial expressions say it all

Travelling isn't always sunshine and roses ... us at Aoraki

The bus at Aoraki

Feeding the sheep at Totara Estate near Oamaru

Exploring All Days Bay near Oamaru

Sandcastle fun

Braving the wind and rain to spot penguins and seals

Our plan is to head up to the North Island in Feb and spend the rest of the year there checking out everything we can and catching up with everyone we can. Look out for the big green bus coming to a town near you!! ;)

Arohanui
Y