We are coming into bad weather. Maybe we should be staying north! There has been ferry cancellations but the forecast looks good on the day we get aboard. Our north island trip is coming to an end. The timing isn’t good to see the few people we thought we could catch up with, both are busy. It is a nice drive over the Rimutaka hills and into Tararua ranges. I feel there is still lots we could see and have missed while on our trip. Which I quite like as I feel a pull to go do it again.

In Wellington we waste the day op shopping and finding some plants at Bunnings. We end up at two different Bunnings looking for Oak Leaved Papaya. They can withstand the cold and I like the idea of some more niche fruits rather than the same old. The ferry is an evening crossing getting us in at midnight. It runs a little late, not that it worries us. Rowan and I were tempted to upgrade to the big room where no children are allowed. They have a large buffet I think similar to koru lounge. We decided to go to the supermarket and get food to make a picky plate. When we landed it was a quick drive out to Waikawa Bay to sleep. It was incredibly busy. I think people just waiting for the ferry as there has been back log.

The next day it was really quiet at the site so it must have been ferry goers. I really enjoyed the morning sitting around drinking coffee and reading my book. It was really nice not having the pressure to go somewhere. We had dinner with Kate & James. Kates grandpa (99) and mother are over from the UK visiting. They went to Australia first to see family now in NZ. Dinner was great, we parked up down by a river out of Blenheim for the night.

On the road for all of 5min and wack! There is a good stone chip and crack. We have had a lot of stones this trip, this is one to do damage. Our morning was spent at Pelorus River. There were heaps of Te Araroa walkers going past. Rowan hopped into the river for a fossick. We got to Nelson in the afternoon and found a repair place. I was worried it couldn’t be fixed but it can, phew! Booked in for tomorrow morning. We had a lovely dinner with Paula, Kelvin and the girls. The girls were happy to see us. I was a bit surprised by Millie (the oldest), last time she was very teenager and was nonchalant.

The following day Kelvin, Rowan and I went op shopping. Lucy the youngest came along for the ride. We ended up going to Motueka too. When we got back we picked up Camele all fixed. Rowan and I got a sneaky croc monsieur. Oh that posh patisserie is a must in Nelson. In the afternoon we packed the trailer full of items we both wished we would never see again. Most of them Laura should be able to sell.

On the road again, heading to Christchurch. We will stay with Rick and Liz a couple of days before heading to base. I booked us in to see our doctors on Monday morning.

Early Sunday morning we had a zoom with a bunch of people from our Antarctica trip. Who can believe it has been 5 years! Talk about time flies.

We thought we may take off after our doctors but decided to stick around and help out Liz and Rick. There oven blew two elements on Christmas Day. How’s that for bad timing! Rowan hunted down some electrical shops and replaced them. Now the oven is in perfect working order again. This also meant we could do the Monday night quiz. Which was great fun, even when it was abysmal and we nearly came last.