Tres amigos, Nuhaka - Oct 2020

 

Whakaki Beach

Mahia Peninsula and surrounds is an area of New Zealand we had not yet explored, apart from driving through to somewhere else.  So we were delighted to be offered a cat only sit in Nuhaka.

Pumbaa and Mia, the Ragdolls

Nairobi, the Burmese cross

All three cats were 'rescues' from a pedigree cat breeder.  I say rescues, as the Ragdolls had been rehomed having past their best-by date for breeding and Nairobi was a 'mistake' litter of kittens after some random moggy bred with one of the Burmese.  The Ragdolls really did lack life skills, having been kept in cages most of their lives.  Very sad indeed.  At least they are in a better place now.  Nairobi, on the other hand, had an exhuberance for life that only eight months old kitten can have!

The kitties gave us plenty of time for fishing and exploring the Mahia Peninsula.  We managed to catch a few fish for sharing with Nairobi (the Ragdolls weren't impressed or interested).

Wow Dad, that's cool!

Trying to get fish scraps out of the bucket

We fished night and day ....

Whakaki Beach

Blacks Beach

But there was always plenty of time to sit and enjoy the view

With a little bit of 'extreme' knitting thrown in

Those of you familiar with our story will already know our passion for wild food.  Nuhaka did not disappoint.  We were lucky enough to be able to harvest a goat and a couple of turkeys (thanks to a neighbour) for the freezer and our bellies.

The cats certainly enjoyed the down times of hanging out on the deck in the sun

Morning snuggles

With a little bit of night-time telly thrown in ...

These three amigos were such easy company.

Fairweather Farmers - Sep/Oct 2020

 

Daily check of the livestock

How much we love farm sits, and rural living in general.  Thus, we were delighted to be chosen to sit for a happy bunch of dogs, cat, horses, ponies and livestock in Oropi in the sunny Bay of Plenty.

CC, the one eyed asian breed .... noisy, nosey and boss of the house

She also loved a knee to snuggle up on.

Jock and Milo, his 8mth cattledog brother who were best of mates.  Jock was very happy to have such an active, boisterous and sweet natured new friend.

Breakfast on our first morning

And speaking of knees .....

About five minutes after our arrival!

These two mischiefs also delighted in doing the rounds of the farm, feeding out and generally making friends with the horses and ponies.

The two rescue foster horses looking better each day

It is always such a joy to us to sit for pets and farm animals that are so well cared for.

Coromandel Peninsular ... finally! - Sep 2020

 

Opito Bay

We had been trying to get to the Coromandel for a couple of years and finally, our time had come.  We were headed for a housesit in Whangamata but had some free time beforehand so decided on a camping and fishing trip to Whitianga first.  Unfortunately the weather had other ideas so we ended up staying in a cabin at the campground and taking a few trips to Opito Bay just to enjoy the beach.  It was far too windy even to get the rods out.

Found this guy in the rock pools

Cuppa at Opito Bay

The steps up to the lookout

We arrived at Whangamata refreshed and ready to hang out with Missy.  

Her main hobby was to roll around on the floor asking for a tummy tickle.  

We were always happy to oblige.

Surfcasting at nearby Onemana proved to be not only fruitful, but also impressed us with some beautiful sunrises and sunsets.  Missy also enjoyed the 'catch of the day'.

James didn't mind getting a bit wet

Now you know how we like to harvest our own food where we can, well .... look what we found in the local supermarket!  We had never made brawn before but we were happy enough to give it a go.  And were quite pleased with the result.

We also found time to harvest the macadamia nuts we had collected at Whanarua Bay as well as squeeze a ton of oranges.

No matter how busy our days, we always make time to sit with Missy in the evenings.