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.

Home away from home, Whakatane - Sept 2020

 

As it came time to leave Whanarua Bay, we were both feeling a little flat.  It is always so hard to leave this heaven on earth!  Stopping at the dairy in Tirohanga for one of their legendary ice creams softened the blow somewhat.

This was our first time back in town for a while and certainly since NZ jumped up to Level 2 Covid.  We had felt very safe from all things Covid up the bay.  But it was time to get out and about again and jump back into our housesitting lifestyle.  We would be stopping in Whakatane for 10 days to stay with our number one springer spaniel, Max ......

And his lovely sister, Ruby ....

We arrived in town a day earlier than planned as James had been offered a day out on a fishing charter.  Well, that was a no brainer!!

A bin full of terakihi

One of James' favourite fish to catch - a kingfish

James brought home 20 terakihi and some kingfish for the tummy and the freezer.  We also gave lots away to family and friends who we knew would appreciate it.  The thing about the freezer is that we have a communal freezer at Ollie and Snow's in Whakatane that all manner of wild food goes into by both us and them. We are always delighted to add our contributions to it.  This year alone = venison, wild pork, rabbit and hare and lots and lots of fish.

Some friends from Whanarua, who also have a house in Whakatane that they spend time at, prepared a fish head brawn out of a hapuka head James had supplied from his previous fishing trip to Ranfurly Banks.  It really was most delicious and something we haven't ever made before.

Whitebait season had started which added a new dimension to our walks with Max on the riverbank.  Never sick of fishing, James decided to take his rod on our walks and try to spin up some kahawai which we hoped would be chasing the whitebait up the river.  He only caught one, but Max was happy to have his walks stretched out to a half hour or so longer.  As a trained bird dog, Max was a little confused about his roll in this activity.  He couldn't quite figure out if he was supposed to be flushing the fish out or fetching them in if it was stupid enough to get caught!

A discussion about who should

do what if they catch one!

It was easier for Max to get distracted by the ducks .... which he at least is familiar with.

We were privileged to watch a seal playing in the river on two occasions.

We enjoyed a couple of play dates with Max's best girl, Luna.  She is always so much fun at the beach trying to find the biggest possible sticks for us to throw.

Throw this one!

Coastlands Beach, enjoyed by animal
and vehicle alike!

Meanwhile, back at the house, Ruby is thoroughly enjoying some unseasonably awesome winter weather.

At the end of the day, Max is so happy to have us around he's even happy to make himself available as a footrest.

And Ruby enjoyed helping with Clare's knitting.

Thanks Ruby ... NOT! ;-)