No this is not about the musical. According to Dave I am now a “Crazy Cat Lady Wannabee”.

Recently we visited our two beloved Burmese cats at their foster home in Christchurch where they have spent the last two years having a lovely time with a family of four. Oscar and Georgie remembered us, it was obvious – our wonderful cats. They are now nine years old. Which has started a bout of reminiscencing.

Since I first arrived in NZ in 2000 we have owned a succession of Burmese or part-Burmese cats – first Saba (who did not know how to climb trees and came from the Cat Protection Society), then Aza (a gorgeous blue with amazing golden eyes) and then Rex (a very cute little cat with one bad habit, he sucked on everything in sight particularly a visitor’s new possum-wool socks and scarf). The latter two were good friends so when Aza had to be put down with spinal cancer at a young age, Rex went looking everywhere for his mate including the road outside where he never normally ventured, and was struck down by a car. it was devastating losing two cats within a few days, but before too long we were looking for some Burmese kittens.

We heard of a litter of six with just one seal coloured male (which we both wanted); they were far too young to leave their mother so for the next four weeks or so we visited them weekly at the breeder’s, rather like new parents visiting their premature babies in hospital. The little seal boy, less adventurous and more timid than his sisters, was named Oscar and his pretty cream sister was originally going to be called Lucinda, after the title of Peter Carey’s book, but her official pedigree name of Georgie Girl seemed to suit her far better. Officially Georgie was a lilac burmese but as she aged it became obvious she was a ‘chocolate’. (Unfortunately all the photos I would love to post here are in storage). 

Oscar has always been the more cautious, thoughtful one and Georgie the rush-in-and-find-out-later one.

Georgie got on particularly well with the fox terrier puppy we obtained about three years later; Oscar was always more stand-offish. All three used to curl up together in one basket (ditto re photos – this is frustrating!). When Penny injured a leg and had to wear a ‘collar’ for a while, Georgie kept her company.

Until we started our travels, Georgie and Penny often played chasing throughout the house. Sometimes Penny became rather too exuberant but Georgie never retaliated. If Penny tried to play with Oscar he would just give her a swipe (claws in) and that was that.

Oscar loved to explore, which was his undoing. when he was a few years old a neighbouring dog grabbed hold of one leg as he was making his getaway over a fence, or so we surmise. Surgery for a dislocated hip plus “bed rest’ in a cage for weeks was his lot. We put the large cage onto a wheeled table so he could sleep in our bedroom and supervise me cooking in the kitchen and watch TV with us in the evenings in the warm living room.

He recovered rapidly but within six months was back in the cage this time with the head of the femur broken off completely. Patched up again by the wonderful Steve at Aldwin’s Rd. Vets, after the obligatory cage incarceration he was soon resuming his former life, jumping fences and all. Today he only has the barest limp if at all. Yet he has no hip joint on one side!

Georgie meanwhile was doing well until one day I noticed her eyes were looking distinctly weird, glowing with reflected light rather like a space alien. It turned out that she had a rare inherited condition called hyperchylomicronemia caused by excessive fatty substances in the blood. Oscar also had it very mildly. Treatment was simple – a permanent low fat diet (previously I was feeding them mainly raw meat). There have been no recurrences and both cats have been very healthy ever since.

We did briefly consider bringing one of both of them with us in the caravan. A condition of that would have been having them both harness trained. Georgie didn’t like the harness much but was fairly acquiescent, but Oscar refused point blank to be subjected to such indignity, and simply became comatose if the harness was put on him. There are a couple of videos on the web of other cats behaving similarly – being dragged along, totally limp. Oscar however did one better.

Stop attempting to drag him along and he would suddenly twist and turn and be out of the harness in a flash, no matter how tight we made it. Houdini had nothing on him. So – the decision to try to find them a foster home was not difficult to make. Finding the home was; it was only at the eleventh hour that a chance remark to my eye specialist bore fruit. (She has since won a competition for “The most unusual present given by a patient.” – two adult cats !!)

I can’t wait for the day when we can once again offer them a home. This photo was taken just before we took them their foster home.

OUR LOVE AND  BEST WISHES TO ALL OUR READERS

FOR A HAPPY CHRISTMAS

AND A SAFE AND JOYOUS NEW YEAR

Have caravan will travel – so what is the point of staying in one place all the time? So while we wait with fingers crossed for our Christchurch home to be sold, we took off for a few days in and around Geraldine. We’d heard about a great POP called Peski’s just outside Geraldine and it turned out to be wonderful. A large private property offered ample parking, bush walks, a washing machine and shower etc and delightful owners who showered us with lettuce and rhubarb from the extensive garden.

There is the bush walk which goes down to the river.

We parked up beside a grove of gum trees (prophetic perhaps as we hope to tour Australia in 2016?) When playing with Penny’s ball it somehow became lodged between the spokes of Dave’s bicycle. Penny couldn’t find it for ages.

Determined to explore, we set off one day in the ute for nearby Waihi Gorge but a sign said No Dogs so we headed off for Te Moana Gorge instead. We knew there were a couple of camping spots somewhere along the road, and a very long gravelled road it turned out to be, narrow and twisty, through bush and pine forest.  Not for a large caravan like T5.

We found three reasonably flat and open camping grounds, but the nearby creek was infested with didymo which left white rims round the rocks when they dried out and would have made playing in the creek unsuitable for young children.

We went right to the end of the Te Moana road, through the gorge and upwards again, past a couple of remote dwellings and finally reached the end – a big locked gate to some privately owned forest lots.

Although the weather was not very good we decided to take a day trip to Tekapo. It seemed strange to be driving the familiar road without our boat in tow. We inspected the new NZMCA camp on the lake foreshores. ….

….. and viewed with some awe all the recent building developments in the township. The new bridge is quite imposing.

But the most important thing to see was of course the lupins. Although a little past their prime, they still glowed and lightened up the dull day. The number along the roads seems to have decreased a little but there were still magnificent patches including a spot on the road towards Mt. St. John where Penny spent a happy time chasing after – what?

We thought we’d go to the Observatory cafe for lunch but the sight of a newly introduced road toll for the steep climb deterred us. Fair enough, that road must need a great deal of maintenance, but the views on that particular day were not likely to be very extensive. An indifferent lunch at a newish cafe in Tekapo sufficed.

We headed back for Geraldine but turned off to explore the hinterland around Pleasant Point and find the signposted “Hanging Rock”. After a long drive on gravel roads we found it beside a bridge over the Ophir river. There were also a couple of ducks and some wildflowers. It was a very dull overcast day, not exactly a photographer’s ideal.

Quite by accident we discovered a wonderful cafe just past the hanging rock bridge. Cafe 1882 is part of an old sandstone homestead once belonging to several generations of a local pioneering family (of course) but this one had links to the early freezing industry down near Timaru. Cattle were brought up to this area to overwinter. There is also a small vineyard. We sampled their pinot noir – delicious – but only available to cafe patrons. Their Death by Chocolate brownie was to die for. We will go there again!

The bed of the Ophir River was awash with wildflowers so next day, with slightly better light, we went back for another look. This time we drove right down onto the river bed and had a lovely time photographing everything in sight.

Then Dave decided to drive a little closer to the hanging rock on the other side of the river, and on the way there we hit a small gully hidden by overgrowth and got stuck. It took 2 hours and much hard slog with shovel, balloon jack and multiple use of the normal jack, plus some considerable rearrangement of the river bed under the wheels, before we got free.

In all that time not a single car went over the distant bridge. A lone fisherman came walking along with his dog, but he only had a small car parked well away.

With bad weather threatening we left Peski’s with regret next day and made it back to the chestnut orchard just in time to set up T5 before the hail started.

After a week or so in Christchurch (and several loads of washing done at Alison’s – thank you!) we were off again.

Since I first saw scurry racing at the Hororata Games two years ago I’ve been keen to see more, and finally we found ourselves in the right place (Canterbury) at the right time. As the racing was over a whole weekend we took T5 with us, and after much trial and error and a surprise trip through the yard of a riding school as it was impossible to turn round at the end of the wrong narrow road, we found the View Hill Domain near Oxford and such a lovely sight – seeming hundreds of ponies (actually about 25) of all shapes and sizes. Horse boxes, carts and light carriages and electric-fenced-off small yards dotted the perimeter on two sides. As it was a public Domain (park) we were free to take T5 right in and park under the trees on one side, but when racing finished for the day at 3 pm and we realised we couldn’t get a signal on the TV, decided to go on to Sheffield for the night and return next day in the ute.

The first day was a fun day, most ponies and carts sported christmassy decorations, and the obstacle courses had christmas themes. We did not arrive till lunch time so missed most of the early races. No matter, what we saw whetted our photographic appetites for more – much more!

Back next morning, the serious stuff had begun. This was to select representatives for the national racing at the Oxford A&P Show on 2nd April next year.

Many people had more than one pony and/or more than one cart/carriage. Two competitors had come down from the north island, one of them with a matching pair of greys pulling an elegant carriage. There were fat little ponies pulling people almost as large as them, sleek Welsh cobs, gorgeous piebalds, and one showy black which seemed to have high-stepped straight out of Rotten Row in Victorian England. Some of the ‘carts ‘ were truly elegant, made in NZ or Australia or even imported from the UK.

Only one accident could have marred the day when an ultra-light carriage tipped out both occupants on a turn and the horse bolted, but there was no damage to anything or anyone apart from pride. Dave snapped them just before the tipping-out point.

We stayed at the back of the Sheffield Hotel for two nights, a surprisingly OK campground with a shower and toilet and power which didn’t always work. We had dinner at he Hotel one night, there were two huge party groups but they managed to squeeze us in and the food was delightful. I was impressed by the table decorations and the atmosphere in general and would recommend the restaurant for a meal on the way back from Arthurs Pass although Sheffield being off the main route back to town probably misses out on much of the through traffic.

So back to an increasingly green chestnut orchard for a few days. A  Facebook entry from an Irish friend showed some of the trauma teddies I knitted recently (the ones with tasselled scarves) plus some knitted by other people. Good to know they made the trip to Ireland safely and are now hopefully with refugee children.

Scurry racing NZ has a Facebook page with lots more action photos.

Here’s a video I found on Youtube from 2013: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwTu3nJqAW0

Everyone has seen photos of monsoon buckets dangling underneath helicopters, but the opportunity to get up close probably doesn’t happen often. So it was rather exciting to see them being repeatedly filled almost under our noses! But sobering too to think of what they were fighting, and of the damage which had already occurred.

We were driving back from a day visit to Picton when we noticed a huge pall of smoke over the mountains to the northwest. That evening the news was about a huge forest fire (and one man’s retirement investment up in smoke, poor guy) plus homes threatened in the Waikakaho Valley.

Next day although sunny the wind blew fiercely and we thought we might get some photos a bit closer. After a few false starts we discovered a track off a back road which led to the Wairau River. Better still there was access to the stop bank and we were able to walk right up to where the monsoon buckets were being filled.

There were up to six helicopters in the air at one time, and another was seen to arrive. The skill of the pilots left me breathless. I lost count of the number of times each helicopter came shooting towards the river towing an empty bucket, turned into the wind and came down slowly to hover while the bucket filled, then off again post haste towards the fire. We watched them for hours.

We could not see any flames but it was clear the fire was still raging and moving up the valley.

Next day even stronger winds were forecast, up to 160km/hr. Thankfully there was also some rain. It was difficult to see in the gloom but it did appear the fire had gone down considerably.

Later news reports said the fire covered 450 hectares and there were at least 40 firefighters on the ground.

Most of the trees which were burnt would have been ready for harvesting in the next two years.  Fire authorities estimated the damage and cost to fight the blaze could reach $$ million NZ dollars.

We found the homesit at Appleby without any trouble although we DID hesitate near the bottom of the long narrow twisty drive – having a large caravan in tow makes one hesitate sometimes. Luckily the homeowner saw us and walked down with Katie, our lovely charge for the next week or so.

The house was part of a large estate situated on a ridge in the middle of some very hilly country. There were about ten homes separated not by fences but by the contours of the land, and walking paths everywhere on common land. I understand there is a body corporate which deals with such things as keeping the vast tracts of grassland mown and possibly doing new plantings or erecting seats, etc. The views everywhere were breathtaking.

Katie took Penny and me for a rather long walk, I was surprised such an old dog more than half blind and deaf and with obvious arthritis was so willing to go so far – she put me to shame. Another time she took Dave and penny – and as soon as they reached the large duckpond, jumped straight in! Her owners have her well trained about the ‘consequences’ of such swims and as soon as we got back she headed straight for their shower and stood patiently while we rinsed her down.

All dogs have inbuilt alarm clocks and Katie was no exception. Used to receiving a bone for lunch each day and some biscuits at precisely five o’clock each evening (her main meal being breakfast, served by Dave), she did not allow me to forget the time!

Right next to the estate is the Playhouse Theatre Cafe so we went there for lunch one day with Dave’s niece Viv. It was a lovely lunch, but perhaps the timing could have been better as we had earlier attended the Mapua markets and sampled some delicacies there and then enjoyed a large brunch at Viv’s friend’s home! Needless to say dinner was little more than bread and water.

The homeowners have an extensive collection of DVDs which we were invited to sample. We got stuck into Foyle’s War with the admirable Michael Kitchen …. and by the time we left had managed got get through several ‘seasons’ but still had a few to go. Hopefully we can find them at lending libraries during our future travels.

We were at Appleby for nine days and did little of note apart from daily walks and attending the Richmond A&P Show. It was a lovely restful time. There were plenty of bees around for Dave to practice his macro shots.

Although a lovely sunny day, the A&P show was almost blown away by the strong winds. Many stalls were dismantled early and some had trouble displaying their wares at all. There were all the usual country Show events like sheep dog trials, horses, cattle, alpaca, photography, vintage tractors and a children’s section.

I missed the Strongman competition but from the size of the equipment – and the guys wandering around – it must have been spectacular.

There was some curious seat numbering- a hidden message perhaps?

There were some magnificent Clydesdales not pulling actual ploughs but a shot of sledge contraption mimicking a plough. They had to wend their way through what constituted an obstacle course, including doing a 360 d agree turn in a narrow circle. One team accomplished that perfectly but then one of the traces got caught up as they were exiting the ‘circle’.

One innovation was Terrier Racing. Dogs were permitted in the showgrounds and knowing Penny’s speed is second to none we decided to enter her in the races. But Penny had other ideas. She was not interested in the ‘rabbit’ which did not have an interesting smell. She was in several races and although she started well each time (chasing the other dogs and easily reaching the leading group) but then decided to return to Dave as she couldn’t see me standing at the finishing line. A little more training and I’m sure she would have done just fine!

We left the homesit with regret, heading for Christchurch after a few days in Blenheim.

Leaving Christchurch and driving north through hills ablaze with yellow gorse, we stopped off in Blenheim for a few days on our way to take up a homesit in Appleby between Richmond and Mapua.

Robyn, her backyard and her cat Kassia all gave us the usual warm welcome. We were fortunate to catch the wild golden poppies in full bloom in the river beds near Blenheim, although we had to wait impatiently for them open each morning.

In some places the flowers were so dense there was hardly any room for other blooms. Note the tiny white-bearded one. And a single blue lupin.

The vineyards are waking up, everywhere are rows and rows of bright green leaves on delicate tendrils. Following the European custom many vineyards also grow roses at the end of the rows or on the boundaries.

We made a day trip to Picton to visit a jeweller who will remodel my wedding and engagement rings; the latter was getting very worn and one small diamond already lost. She has now designed a magnificent new ring, I can’t wait to see (and wear) it. Meantime I am wearing a $3 copper ‘wedding ring”! Standing outside a nearby cafe on the Picton waterfront deliberating whether to have coffee, out of the cafe burst Dave’s old workmate another Dave … we can’t seem to stop bumping into people we know!

We enjoyed another 2-for-1 pizza night with Robyn and her friends at Renwick’s Cork and Keg. Wonderful value, great surroundings. Their other food is very good too. Then it was off again heading for Nelson and up the Moutere Valley to our next homesit.

Two years ago we were in Te Aroha, a small town in the Waikato area of NZ’s north island. T5 was parked in the grounds of a private club which offered a secure site and the use of the club premises for a nominal fee. It was our wedding anniversary and I was determined to celebrate (hey, 9 years married to a feisty Kiwi…!). All dressed up, we (or rather I) decided the Club’s pub  grub style restaurant was not good enough for such an important event, but where to go? We drove into town ….  and there towards the end of the main street was an authentic Italian restaurant. Amazing!

We had the most wonderful meal in an eclectic atmosphere, topped off with an Affogatto served with style in the proper italian manner by the proprietress. A scoop of vanilla icecream, a demitasse of extra strong coffee, and a shot of liqueur. I have never forgotten it, it’s been my benchmark for affogatto ever since.

Fast forward two years, we are in Blenheim and again it is THAT DATE. Blenheim on a Friday is not very scintillating. Where to go? All the Vineyard cafes closed at about 5 pm. The one very good restaurant was booked out, as was No.2. on the ‘best restaurants in Blenheim’ guide. Pub grub did not appeal, no matter how good it is on other occasions. We drove round and round and were almost resigned to going back to T5 for left-over pasta when Dave spotted … an Italian restaurant! Rocco’s was not on the list of Blenheim restaurants which we had checked earlier. Once again we had a scrumptious meal, with a gorgeous Sicilian wine (in Marlborough wine country!), and for dessert I ordered – you guessed it – affogatto. Although very tasty it did not live up to the Te Aroha benchmark. Talking to the proprietor, he promised to make the coffee stronger next time!

It was a lovely anniversary.

(I am posting this immediately, but have two other posts still to do which really precede this one in time….)

Just before leaving Christchurch we spent an awesome day at the Hororata Highland Games. This was the fifth year of the Games which started after the Christchurch earthquakes as a project to lift the community’s morale. It has morphed into one of the biggest and best Highland Games in the country.

Last time we attended the Games, although a clear bright day there was a cold wind, so in expectation of the same I dressed fairly warmly. The caravan tends to be a little cool in the mornings and it is not until one has been outside for a while that the weather can be accurately gauged, at least as accurately as ANY New Zealand weather can be gauged, seeing it can go through four seasons in a single day. After picking up sister in law Alison we were just on our way when Dave realised he didn’t have any spare batteries for his cochlear implants, so we drove back to the caravan (only a short distance away) and I took the opportunity to change into something rather more summery and was very glad later on that I had. It was glorious, hot day.

It was impossible to cover everything. Two years ago the innovative event was scurry racing; this year it was a Highland Spin competition – “… a Fleece to Garment challenge where teams of six people race to shear a sheep, spin the wool and knit a child’s jersey in six hours.” By the time we arrived the sheep had already been shorn and three teams were hard at work carding, spinning and even knitting straight from the spindle. The Highland Spin tent was a hive of activity; as well as the three teams there were spinning and sheep shearing demonstrations. Some spectators were settled in for the long day … with their knitting!

I was disappointed not to catch the start and to see how long before the knitting actually started. When I returned to the tent some hours later, the knitting was well advanced but still the wheels spun. Concentration was absolute and the atmosphere electric. We also managed to catch the end, but I do know the victorious team completed a very reasonable-sized jersey well within the allotted time.

A beautiful new elevated stage made the Highland Dancing far more visible to everyone. I cannot comment on the quality of the dancing but I was very impressed by the younger children doing the sword dance. According to the programme there were 34 different dancing events over 13 different age groupings, as the Games also hosted three different Canterbury West Coast and one South Island Highland Dancing Championships.

I could not get into a really good position to take photos of the caber toss, or indeed most off the heavy athletics cpmpetitions, some of which involved women; but I did see some of the tug’o’wars.

Apart from the usual crafts etc stalls seen at all country fairs there were some with a particularly Scottish flavour:

There was a large sign near the entrance explaining the Heavy Athletic events, something I appreciated. Do any of my readers know, for example, that a perfect cable toss is called a twelve o’clock turn, where the caber falls straight away from where the athlete released it. In a 12 o’clock toss, the caber falls away rom the thrower and forms a straight line through the thrower. Sometimes the caber falls off slightly to the side – a 10 o’clock, 11.30 etc. I gather that if the caber falls back towards the thrower, the toss is void.

Bananas are essential fuel …

I also missed the Hororata Pie Eating Competition – not that I think there would be anything particularly interesting watching people scoffing pies as fast as possible – and they are very good pies, such a shame to treat them so!

There was plenty of food available though including scrumptious whitebait patties on the usual white bread (no other type of bread will do), Scottish pasties and haggis, waffles, and NZ ice-cream including an experimental whisky flavoured ice-cream. I cannot say I could really taste the artifical flavour but both of us enjoyed a taste of the special Hortorata Whisky and came away with two reasonably expensive bottles.

The Kilted Mile (which involved far more than just running – and yes there was some pie eating involved too!) drew quite a crowd. the winner was a very fit young man.

Being a Highland Games there were of course many piping and drumming events. It was good to see so many young people of both sexes taking part in these competitions.

There were a number of Have A Go activities for both adults and children – “Visitors love to get off the bleachers and get hands on with various activities such as tossing the caber or sheaf, farmers walk, archery or the Haggis toss.”  And indeed many people particularly young ones did indeed have a go. It was such a happy atmosphere.

For entertainment as well as the serious Game events, there were Scottish Country dancing demonstrations (which we nearly disrupted by greeting some of our old dancing group friends who we haven’t seen for two years, not long before the music started!) …..

….. and a game of Hurling – something like lacrosse and hockey combined.

We visited Clan Lane and the Johnston(e) Clan table of course – both of us are Johnstons, but unrelated. There was a lovely vase of Red Hawthorn – the Johnston Clan flower – which I have not seen before. I was interested to see a display by a Society of Orkney Islands descendants and will be following up with them later about one of my ancestors. I visited the Orkneys in the late 60s and remember them well, one of the highlights of my Big OE.

The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) made their presence felt with a tent housing weaving, medieval manuscript illumination and sewing displays, and outside there was a woodworker clad in full armour and various other people in medieval dress. I once used to dance with a Renaissance Dancing group and although not part of the SCA we shared many dances in common.

Footsore, sunburnt, well fed and happy we were just about to leave when Dave was accosted by a rather desperate lady – could we possibly help start her car? We always carry jumper leads so Dave was able to help, but it was indeed lucky that after a good clean-out of the back of the ute, Dave had only placed the jumper leads back in the evening before. A happy ending to a memorable day.

I have finally managed to get the website looking more respectable; if you want to read some my family history stories they are under ‘Genealogy’.  There’s also a story about the “Cornelius” on which I spent a wonderful ten years.

We arrived back in the chestnut orchard a month ago when the trees were still bare  ….

…. and when we left last week the orchard was a field of dappled green grass covered with small white daisies, bright yellow dandelions and thistledown heads which look like a faintly bluish carpet when viewed in the late afternoon sun.

Birdlife had increased markedly; apart from the usual sparrows and blackbirds etc there were some quail and ducks. We had a daily visitor named Chookie who would be most insistent if I did not feed her NOW, came at my call and took bread from my hand. Penny was very good and ignored them all.

Not long after our arrival we joined a local Dog Walk event, but unlike the one in Blenheim people were not very friendly. The walk was supposed to be a 5 km round trip in the Groynes area through some nice semi-bushland, much of it reclaimed land, but 2/3 the way or so we came to a locked gate and had to return the way we came. Quite a walk!

I’ve spent some time recently knitting trauma teddies to send to a friend of a friend in Ireland who is collecting them to give to refugee children together with a special book. A great way to use up some spare wool. The Australian Red Cross are doing the same thing.

Driving around Christchurch we were both struck by the increasing number of changes. It is getting progressively more difficult to work out one’s location!  More new buildings have gone up since our last visit, including the impressive new bus exchange. There have been some mutterings because the buses have to back out of their pens, normally buses are forbidden to reverse. The temporary ReStart mall (made from shipping containers) has been moved to a new location.

Late one cold and windy afternoon we decided to go to the Ferrymead Historical Park as the vintage steam train and trams were running.

There was also an early electric tram. We had a number of rides but not time to explore much else.

We did however visit the smithy; in the cold afternoon wind we enjoyed some much-needed hot lebanese food and coffee.

As it was a special weekend many people were dressed in period costumes including these ladies (one with a spoiler!) and three children who I spotted from the top of the electric tram. When I tried to find them later they had all disappeared.

One old cottage had a walk-in pantry. They seem to be coming back into vogue as they are feature of several Show Homes we have seen recently.

That rather annoying American custom of Halloween rolled round again, and one of the caravan ‘ladies’  went round all the caravans in our little community to warn people that her grandchildren would be visiting that weekend. She gave us bags of sweets to give them as most people would not be expecting the peace of the orchard to be invaded. As dusk fell the visiting witch with her little ghostly helpers DID look rather good, although Penny wasn’t too sure what to make of them! Grandma obviously went all-out to give the grandchildren a wonderful experience, even decorating their caravan.

We went out to our house in Templeton (Christchurch) and removed all our remaining belongings which were stored out of sight in the attic, plus some bookshelves etc still in the garage. Grateful thanks to Nienke for arranging a trailer. We’d been expecting to need to do quite a bit of gardening but the tenants plus the regular lawn mowing guy have kept the place reasonably neat and little was required. It was a bit of a wrench to see all my roses, grape hyacinths, daffodils etc and the two ballerina apple trees all of which I had planted when we first arrived, just starting to look their best. Two of the rosebushes we had brought from our old home in Linwood Ave but they will have to stay now.

We are currently home-sitting in a lovely little country home between Richmond and Motueka, More in the next blog. Just before leaving we attended the wonderful Hororata Highland Games – also in the next blog.

As I prepare this for posting it is 3rd October, exactly two years since we left home to start on our caravan adventuring. TWO YEARS???

After leaving Blenheim we spent a few days around Nelson while Dave helped his niece with some home improvements. We stayed in the NZMCA camp which is part of the Richmond Racecourse/Showground.

The Racecourse is a very quiet place most of the time although it’s easy to imagine the bustle on race days. All the buildings are so old particularly the enclosed horse boxes, the doors worn down by generations of strong horse teeth. Nearby the open stalls were once shaded by an avenue of huge, really huge old trees, now reduced to stumps.

Near the grandstand is a memorial to the Wahine, surrounded by a garden full of flowers and herbs (which I was invited to use).

The grass everywhere was very green and identical brown horses covered with identical horse blankets grazed everywhere in the outlying paddocks – how do the owners tell them apart? Sheep grazed in the middle of the racetrack. A young police dog was being put through its paces in a back area.

On Sunday morning there was a little Farmers Market – two fruit and vegie stalls, a soap stall with some creative products, one selling the usual alternative health products, and two craft stalls, one covered with original crocheted hats mostly a la Minion style but with various twists. I should have taken photos; here’s one of my more conventional ones if that adjective can possibly be used!

We drove up to Mapua, Ruby Bay and Motueka for the day and explored the coastline. Motueka was once an important port but is now a pretty stretch of coastline deserted except for the wreck of the Janie Seddon which belonged to the big fishing company Talleys and was beached in the 50s. She was the company’s first fishing vessel built in Scotland in 1903 and was used as a Port Examination Vessel in Wellington during WW2. Talleys bought her as a coal-powered fishing trawler in 1947. Some people have expressed concern about safety hazards but as one local says, is the wreck any less safe now than it already has been for decades? It’s a landmark and a key part of Motueka’s history. http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/63407740/Old-wrecks-days-may-be-numbered.

It looked like the locals take considerable pride in the shoreline. Colourful flowers were everywhere. I was intrigued by what I think is a giant Billbergia (“Queen’s Tears”), certainly the biggest I’ve ever seen. We will have to go back later to see the flowers to confirm this.

We’d had lunch at the Jester House and were due to meet Viv for coffee at Toad Hall  – popular local names! – but were late for the latter as we discovered a huge local ferry in a shipyard, being prepared for relaunching. This was the ferry on which a wedding party travelled from KeriKeri to Mapua the day before Penny went missing last year. It was awesome watching the huge monster being manoeuvred by a single tractor, with one other called in temporarily when everything got bogged! 

Also spotted; a sad little fishing boat which will not be putting out to sea again.

Grouch 1: While in Nelson one morning I spotted a Beads shop and thought they might be able to fix a bracelet of mine so we went in – or tried to. A sign said Open from 10 am and it was about 9.45 then, so we took ourselves off for a not-really-needed-coffee and returned at 10.20. Still closed. We then went to the nearby Tahunanui Beach and had a lovely walk with Penny on what is surely a doggie paradise populated by any number of well behaved dogs. One in particular intrigued us, a foxie very similar to Penny but tan and white only.. It took us about a year to find our tricolour Penny and we never saw any tan and white advertised in that time. The owner confirmed she had been “difficult to find”! did not have my camera with me but managed a shot or two when we got back to the ute.  Back to the Beads shop, Open but nobody in sight and after hanging around for ages we took off in disgust. Maybe the owner was having her hair done at the next door shop, but she would have seen us hanging around surely. So my bracelet will have to wait for Christchurch.

Grouch 2: Speaking of bracelets, both Dave and I have MedicAlerts. We got these because we both have cochlear implants and in the event of a serious accident not only should we NOT have MRIs but if the external parts were dislodged it might not be obvious that one or both of us were totally deaf. The idea is that anyone finding us can phone the number on the MedicAlert emblem and quote the membership number and have immediate access to our medical records. BUT 5 months after joining I still cannot access my so-called Manage My Health account where my medical details are supposed to be found, and this despite many emails to MedicAlert and repeatedly changing my password at their request even though it is more likely the membership number which is at fault. I am getting fed up with this!!

We had a look at a couple of Show Homes while in Richmond. We now have a huge showbag of brochures and booklets from nearly all the big home builders, all with similar offers and as far as we can make out similar prices. I still hanker for a totally eco home though. The main stumbling block is not so much cost (that will come!) but finding some suitable land. Like Blenheim, Richmond and Nelson are undergoing a building boom, new home sites are being snapped up at an alarming rate, and the higher up the hillside the better the view and of course the higher the cost.

We drove back to Christchurch via Murchison, Reefton (2 nights) and the Lewis Pass. The gorse is ablaze everywhere, I wonder what the early Scottish immigrants would think if they could see what has happened with their importation which was intended for stock feed only – but the cattle preferred the soft NZ grass which is why the gorse is now so rampant.

I’m not sure why I like Reefton, considering the first time I visited the town was in the depth of winter and I was fresh from Australia. But in spring it is a pretty place, the main road north is lined with blossom trees and there are so many quaint old buildings, particularly the court house (which we visited on an earlier trip).

There also seem to be a number of friendly goats, including one in a paddock opposite T5, standing in a ‘field’ of aged cabbage leaves – maybe he is hoping I’ll give him something a little different. This one was at the entrance to the town.

The air s full of the smell of burning coal – rather a comforting smell actually which takes me back to my childhood and steam train trips from Sydney to the Blue Mountains. We stayed at a POP site which caught the evening sun beautifully and gave a view over the town.

We hadn’t planned to stay there 2 nights but the second day was so pleasant that we did. In the afternoon we drove a short way south and discovered some land for sale, complete with a cottage of sorts … here it is. A very desirable position perhaps.

A little further on towards the town we stopped to investigate the swing bridge which takes one over the Inangahua river and to the site of an early power station. The area is just so rich not only in mining history but in the history of electricity in NZ – Reefton was the first town in the southern hemisphere to establish its own power station. Penny was not so keen on this swing bridge…)

Back in town we found an old steam engine, wedged between a skating rink and a heated swimming pool on ‘The Strand’ (!). Signs told us that this was R28, an articulated locomotive ‘designed to cope with tight curves”. It has a long and convoluted history and is one of only two genuine single engine Fairlie engines in the world. Sadly it does not seem to have been looked after very well.