Skipper sitting - Nov/Dec 2017

Super moon over Tasman Bay

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.

New Zealand adventures - A family gathering and the Wild West, Nov 2017

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.

Bangkok stopover - Nov 2017

Wat Pho Temple

We decided on a four day stop over on the way to New Zealand this time.  Not only is it easier on the jetlag and we were looking forward to soaking up some tropical warmth .  Great flights with Thai Air although the food was some of the worst we have experienced in the air!

When we landed in Bangkok the line for the taxi was so long we wondered what we were in for.  The wait for a taxi proved to be the least of our problems.  We had printed out the directions to our accommodation in both English and Thai which was helpfully supplied by our hotel's website.  This proved to be of no use to the taxi driver and from his reaction, we can only assume that he was unable to read!  Even the map seemed not to help much. Friday night traffic didn't help either and 2.5 hours later he suggested we had arrived close enough to our destination.  Ummmm, no!  Our cell phone had no service but we were able to track our progress by the blue dot moving around the  (very rudimentary) map .... not very helpful except to confirm that we were variably moving away from or closer to our destination.  After some insistance he finally agreed to call the hotel and voila! here we are.    The whole journey still only cost NZ$24 ... including a tip.

Great digs out of the way of the hustle and bustle of city traffic and noise but within walking distance to markets.  Taxis are cheap and cheerful and we opted to walk through Chinatown to Wat Pho and taxi back.

Ordered chaos

We also enjoyed cooling off by the lake close by.  We bought some fish food from a lady on the side of the road and fed the fish.

Someone's happy place

It was also great to see a few monitor lizards frollicking in the heat of the day.

Of course, we had to take a train across town to the ...

We enjoyed roaming through the market areas at night looking for food.  Some of the signage certainly leaves nothing to the imagination.

Lost in translation ... actually a beauty therapy clinic

Not lost in translation

We especially enjoyed the food both at the local restaurants and on the street.