Gone bush - May 2020

White Island/Moutothora

On the very day that the country stepped down to Level 3, we packed the car and headed to our friends' place in Whakatane.  This would allow the painter to start work at Bev's. So we were now in a new 'bubble' with Ollie, Snow their daughter, Katelyn.  Oh, and our favourite springer spaniel Max!

We spent some time at the beach collecting pipis

Climbing mountains

And, of course, fishing

A friend who lives in the middle of nowhere, quite literally, contacted us to check if we would be available to look after his place for a week or so.  Ummm, yeah, we seemed to be at a bit of a loose end, so off went on our next adventure.  This one was going to be an example of 'social distancing' in its purest form.  Pohokura is not a particularly easy place to get to so we were pleasantly surprised that the road was in fairly good condition compared to the last time we journeyed in.

Rainbow connection

We spent our days walking the hills and forest, checking and re-setting traps and recording the rats and stoats we managed to slaughter.

This was a fairly typical day for us

And these were our typical views

Every day we took our rifle for a walk and never managed any meat for the table.  We only saw three deer.  To be fair, it was totally the wrong time of year for hunting.  We did see a bit of pig sign too.

We weren't too disappointed as we were just enjoying the freedom of the bush after being so cooped up during Level 4

This beautiful moss looks like snow!

And no matter where we are in the big wide world, James always manages to hit his head on something ....

For James's birthday, he got an all expenses paid visit to the local spa.  He was happy!

The view from the 'bath house'

Wild horses on the road out

LOCKDOWN!!!! - Mar/Apr 2020

 

Nekminit .... the Government announces Level 4 LockdownBefore heading north, we took the opportunity to call in and stay a couple of nights with Clare's aunty in Whangaparaoa.  It was whilst here that the strange and unsettling news of the Coronavirus rared its ugly head.  Before we knew it, all our future NZ sits were cancelled and we truly were of no fixed abode.  We made the collective position to stay put.  It was a good one for all of us.  It meant that Bev would have some comany during a time she would not be able to meet with her friends for coffee or exercise classes etc.  And, hey, we were truly homeless for the first time since starting our petsitting lifestyle.  A strange feeling indeed.Before the government announced the total lockdown of the country, we had been helping Bev with her plans to repaint and refurbish her home.

During the following 5 weeks we repainted the deck, sold off some of the furniture pieces she no longer required, replaced the seals around the bi-folding doors and engaged a painter to paint the whole inside of the house once Level 4 was over.

Before

   After

Then it was time to relax into the whole Level 4 experience.  Learning Majong, doing jigsaw puzzles, walks around the neighbourhood, lots of knitting and proof-reading, re-formatting Bev's Memoirs .... and trying desparately to not drive each other round the twist ;-)

We took only one drive out together as the rules started to relax a little.  We went down to Gulf Harbour for a 'socially distanced' walk around and to feed the fish in the canal.  James wishes he had his rod with him!!!

  Snapper and Kingfish

Fortunately were had the added distraction of Lexus, the big old gorgeous boy.  One can always take a leaf out of a cat's book when it comes to chilling.And we ate a lot ......

  Lexus wondering what Bev has to offer

Fortunately were had the added distraction of Lexus, the big old gorgeous boy.  One can always take a leaf out of a cat's book when it comes to chilling.

Heading for a Northland adventure - Mar 2020

Weiti River, Whangaparaoa

On our way to a housesit in Mangawhai Heads, we had accepted a short sit in Stanmore Bay. 

We settled in for a long weekend to hang out with Chula, a staffy x, for a few days.

In between long walks on the beach, playing fetch and romping around the park up the road, there was plenty of time to relax and snuggle.

This is a lovely part of the country and we know it well.  We were able to do a spot of fishing in the Weiti River outlet.

This wee shark was released

As usual, we were able to catch enough snapper for a feed.

From this ....

 To this!

We were also fascinated by the fossils in the cliff edge on this stretch of the river.