Jandals, flipflops,thongs ... same thing in any language
We went to stay in Nelson with Bailey the Ragdoll cat for a couple of weeks over Christmas.
She was a doddle to look after, a cuddle (or two) and a brush everyday and we were all happy.
Four generations of family had again gathered, this time in Nelson at Clare's nephew's, some of them coming from as far away as London. We were hot on the spot! An awesome time was had by all. The weather behaved extremely well and a few outdoor activities were in order.
James and Ari waiting for the girls to stop shopping
(Great) Grandpa's bodyboarding lesson
The three littlest cousins
Excavation engineers in the making
What's with the colour coordination?!?!
Bumper boat competition
And the odd Wasgij got done
It was soon time for everyone to scatter in their own directions and to other folds of their families.
We are lost for words about this place. Somebody on the West Coast told us it was a great place for kayak fishing. What an understatement that turned out to be.
We had a couple of weeks to kill before our housesit in Nelson and a family Christmas so thought this a good way to spent it. First we needed to stock up on supplies in Nelson as Titirangi Bay is in the northern most reaches of Marlborough Sounds and many difficult kilometeres from the nearest shop. So we stocked up on everything we needed ... or so we thought. We also borrowed a tent because, as we were going to be stationary for a while, an extra room for sleeping or keeping stuff in is always a good idea.
Titirangi Farm Park is on land which a couple (friends of the extended family, so it turned out!) lease from DOC and run a sheep farm and a campground on. The road in is challenging which makes for a reasonably quiet campground as many tourist are put off by the trek. There were only two or three others there when we arrived so we set up camp in a sheltered corner of the park.
During out stay, there was never more than about four other vehicles at one time. A truly tranquil corner of the earth. We shared the campground with a few cheeky weka, one of which we named Limpy as he had a badly injured leg. He was being picked on by the others and it looked like he may not survive the challenge of his wild-life, but by the time we left, the special attention we and the other campers had given him had seen him well on the way to 'standing on his own two feet'.
The family of weka provided hours of entertainment with their shenanigans .... stealing food from anyone whose attention strayed from their camp. We lost a banana, a capsicum and (nearly) a whole kahawai.
The weather wasn't great when we arrived so we started out by surfcasting and fishing off the rocks. All we caught were some undersized snapper and the odd kahawai.
It wasn't until we started kayaking in the early mornings that we really experienced the magic of the bay.
It was so peaceful out on the water enjoying the sunrise (not often will you hear us admit to this!) and the fish were plentiful. So much so that we were able to take plenty of gurnard and kahawai back to Nelson to feed the family on Christmas Eve.
50cm gurnard
Too plentiful to fit them all in the pic!
Smoking green lipped mussels .... not yet perfected
Camp dinner -mussel laksa and gurnard fish fingers
During our fishing trips we also caught a couple of barracuda and a variety of small sharks. All good fun and all released back into the wild. However, the highlight of this adventure was catching our first kingfish from the kayak! It was a really exciting and surprising event (see video below for a comical blow by blow).
Proud catcher of this 83cm kingi
We enjoyed supplying fish to the other campers, many of whom were overseas tourists who had no experience of New Zealand fish straight from the ocean. They, in turn, were very generous at sharing some food staples we were starting to run short of .... bread, eggs, onions etc.
The weka and the farm cat were also happy recipients of offcuts from the filleting process.
The only unfortunate incident during our stay was the serious head injury of one of the camper/fisherman who fell head first from the rocks, splitting his head wide open and breaking three vertebrae in his neck. James became the primary firstaider until the rescue helicopter arrived some 45 minutes later. It felt like a lifetime .... as these things do. The poor guy was flown straight to Wellington where he received plastic surgery on his face/head among other less urgent medical procedures. Makes one think of the dangers of living an outdoor lifestyle miles from civilisation. But we don't let that detract from the special experiences we had here.
Several weeks later, as we passed the turnoff to Titirangi Bay on our way to Picton we were tempted to forget all the plans we had made for 2018 and just head straight back there :-)
We made our way back to Motueka and a housesit on the Takaka Hills. We enjoy Mot, not only because they have the best real fruit ice creams in the country!
This housesit turned out to be beyond our expectations. It is a property with the most amazing views over Tasman Bay. The house is off-grid, a concept we appreciate very much and there is an Air BnB accommodation on the property. We use Air BnB and if we had booked this site we would be delighted to arrive to such splendor. If anyone is looking for a place to stay in the Tasman area we can highly recommend ...... Bronhaul Eco Retreat
Our charge here was a wee guy called Skipper.
What a cutie pie!
Skippy is getting on in years now and not as sharp as he used to be but this did not stop him bringing in a family of baby rabbits, one at a time, then staking out their burrow. We were also treated to an early morning wake up call by a couple of cheeky kea .... who proceeded to try to dismantle the solar panels on the roof. A couple of well aimed 'missiles' soon stopped that!
Naughty birdies
Tasman Bay from the front lawn
Our days consisted of taking Skipper for walks (carrying him home on the uphill slog) and wandering the hills at sunset, stalking deer and enjoying the great outdoors.
We sat and watched this big guy, plus a couple# of young fallow spikers, for quite some time
Thank you Guy, Carolyn and Skipper for sharing your amazing lifestyle with us.
Arriving in New Zealand early Nov, we spent the first two weeks catching up with family, celebrating Clare's Dad's 85th birthday and getting our 4X4 ready for a summer of fun. We planned to intersperse some house sitting with plenty of wild camping, fishing and kayaking. New Zealand is such a fabulous place for all of these things.
Back seats out, bed in
Most comfortable mobile bed we have ever had
Ready to roll ....
A family weekend was spent at Waikanae Beach celebrating Kevin's birthday. People came from far and wide and it was a great opportunity for us to see everyone, after so long, all in one place! The weather was perfect. Long may it last!
Some of the 'big' kids made a beach sculpture in honour of our
father, grandfather and great grandfather
... we didn't have time to add the '85'
The fandamily who were able to make it. There were some
key members missing, mostly in other countries
Our first camping trip was to the west coast of the South Island. First stop, our favourite kahawai fishing spot in Charleston at the mouth of the Nile river. We have never failed to catch dinner here and there is a comfortable roadside camping spot. We are travelling with a fish smoker so a few kahawai every now and then is most welcome.
Hard at work ;-)
Good enough to gobble
We made our way north intending to spend a few days around Karamea. A more beautifully wild part of NZ you will not find, but at this time of year you must be prepared to be carried off by the sand-flies. They really are unpleasant, attacking every uncovered piece of skin at every opportunity. We caught a few good snapper off the beach making it worth the agro. Although we have sat on beaches all over the world, a more enchanting beach we have yet to encounter. We sat and watched schools of bait fish flurry by, a seal frolicking in the shallows hoping for an easy meal and a pod of porpoise hunting and playing out in front of us. The wild wild west for sure!
No, it wasn't cold, it's just that insect repellant
wasn't quite up to spec for the pests here
After staying the night at the start of the Heaphy track we decided to look for some reprieve from the midges and headed inland to the Oparara Basin. The road in wasn't the easiest but we have just the vehicle for that! Once there, we found ourselves all alone for the evening, enjoying a swim in the river, a cold beer and a peaceful nights sleep.
Limestone caves
The mighty Buller
Just a couple of bush bunnies
We love this part of the world. Still relatively unspoiled by farming and forestry, hosting some of the best native bush in the land.
