Author Archives: Kiwihobos

We picked a great day to get some exterior paint on. There is a bit of touch up stuff to do and then the bits around the widows and she is done.

Much to our dismay we sold the hot tub, or as we like to call it the cold plunge pool. The guy wanted it now as he is putting a tiny home on that means it couldn’t go in later. It is good to have it sold.

We have had a few viewings with Camele, but have yet to have someone snatch her up.

On Saturday we did a garage sale because the whole area was having one. It was good, we got rid of a bunch of stuff and made $250. It was mostly stuff I was about to donate anyway, which is what happened to 90% of what was left. We kept a few things as we are doing a Swapmeet next weekend.

Also it gave us a sneaky at the plastering. It should be done on Wednesday.

We had half a day of help from Alistair out at Herbert. Rowan and I also sold a large cabinet which meant another jig with the container. But now most items are where they are going to stay and the rest of them are in stacks ready to go.

We have already packed for the Swapmeet which makes life very easy.

I also had a chance to do a few things to my motorbike. I wrapped the exhaust, changed a leaver and did a little rust work. I also gave the Himalayan a wash so the bikes are ready for photos.

After photos we were riding back home and I noticed that the tide was low ish and we could make it out to the tunnels. So I turned around and got Rowan to come down with me. We ended up there for a while and of course ended up having a good swim, with me trying to body surf.

When rearranging the containers I found a lot of old clothing I still had from the antique shop. We are heading to Dunedin and I will drop off a few bags at the recycle boutique. Turns out it is 6 bags!

We are off to Auckland for a special surprise birthday party Rowan and I have an early dinner at Moons Bar/Restaurant. We will get into Auckland about 9.30pm. When I booked the flights I wasn’t sure if we would be working on site so I booked the flights assuming we were. It turns out we could have gone up earlier or stayed longer. But that’s the trade off for booking ahead of time.

When we get off the plane I see a heap of messages telling me my Nana is not well. Are we about to have a birthday party without the birthday girl? My sister Emma picks us up at the airport and we are staying with her tonight.

Saturday morning we had a picnic at Cornwall Park. I haven’t been in here for many years. Us four girls, partners, kids and my Dad had a great time. It was great to see my dad. Rowan had a production line of sandwiches to feed us all.

The main event is in Orewa, the weather is perfect. The decision was made to hire a hall and get it all catered. A great idea, no slaving in the kitchen all morning. Everything was great, the lady of honor arrived fashionably late and stayed longer than I anticipated. Nana wasn’t really feeling well enough for a party but I know she would have been upset to have missed it. Lots of family and friends gathered to celebrate.

After the party a few of the cousins came down to the beach for a late night swim. It was a great temperature which made me a bit sad that the water back home isn’t this warm.

We stayed at Nanas last night with my Mum and needed up talking into the wee hours having a good catch up.

On Sunday morning Nana had forgotten I was here so she got another nice surprise. Today is her actual birthday and she is feeling a lot better. Pretty amazing to be 95!

Down at Tindalls Beach for a swim! Even baby Ahuaiti joined in.

We had a nice lunch at Emma and Paul’s before heading to the airport. We arrived back in Dunedin to cold wet weather. A huge change to the warm summer of the north.

This week is easy going. A few jobs on the list but we are waiting for doors to arrive so we can finish the GIB and get the plasterer in. We have an early morning trip to Jim’s Farm. We take a load up and bring back a load of firewood which we drop at his sister in laws Velta. Velta is who we had Christmas lunch with and she is talented with making lead light glass windows and other amazing arty glass things. Her windows in her home are incredible.

On Tuesday we get word our doors are being delivered early. No worries, we have a lockbox. On Thursday when I notice no doors on site I start ringing Vicky at Mitre10 asking her where they are. Turns out the freight company delivered them to the wrong house and so now I need to knock on my neighbours door and apologise for the mix up. Well that was a mystery I didn’t want to have to solve haha.

It takes two days to finish off some small jobs but we are now ready for a final exterior coat of paint and for the plasterer next week.

In the meantime this week one of my aunts insists that my Nana gets checked out at the hospital. Turns out her gallbladder is no good. They do a quick keyhole surgery and she recovers pretty quickly and is back home in a few days. What a champion!

Looks like winter is upon us fast. I woke up to our first frost of the year and yesterday looked liked autumn had decided to start. The Southern Alps have fresh snow on the tops. Winter is knocking upon my door.

Our wood fired bath has been sold and since we are using the hot tub everyday we thought we should move it. It wasn’t easy to move but we got there in the end. We also made the fence higher for more privacy.

Three days this week was taken up with organising our containers. It was a lot and we have more to do but now the container in Palmerston can easily be moved. Everything packed in there is strapped in. Alistair our friend came to help.

I used up that insulation on the internal walls.

Two days of GIB. The boys got it done pretty fast. We are now waiting on doors before it can be fully finished.

It was my Birthday I am a whole 37 years old. Jenna’s dad is a kindergarten teacher and he got his class to sing me Happy Birthday. It was extremely cute. I had cake and nachos for dinner. Yes I worked on my birthday, it was a day we were putting GIB on.

We house/animal sat for Chris and Ferne in Herbert. Just four nights. Rowan and I did another birthday celebration by making a cheesecake and having a yummy three course meal.

Reluctantly back at the dreaded W word. We are still riding the high of our trip and really looking forward to sailing into the sunset. Talking of sailing, we have a date, 1st of July. We better rattle our dags to make sure we are ready.

We filled up our hot tub to have as a cold plunge pool. I think we would miss our swims too much. Every morning we hop in nice and early for a dip. Most mornings I don’t last in there very long. In the afternoon when the sun is out I can stay in a lot longer.

News this week, well we had the plumber and sparky come do their jobs while we were away. The insulation was delivered and Graham our builder came down to help us get it all in before the inspection. It was all done by 3.30pm, I think the three of us worked well and got the job done pretty fast. Even with masks and gloves on the fibreglass is not a fun. Rowan and I took a cold plunge when we got home to remove it all.

The following day (Wednesday) we have Dave our cute plumber here and he works on the shower trays and plumbing while we wait for the council inspector. Dave has to show the pressure test to the council so the pipes are signed off. I think this is one of the most crazy parts about building. Plumbers are going to change soon to self certification which I think is a good thing. The crazy part is the electricians and the gas fitters are all self certified, they are the two that can kill you if they don’t do it right in your home. The worst that could go wrong with the plumbing is a flooded house or black water where you don’t want it. Crazy as!

Tim from Mitre10 also comes to deliver the GIB and take away the insulation. He asks me to grab the insulation. Which I shouldn’t have attempted on my own. Long story short I ended up with 5 bales all in a big wrap in the creek, eek! There goes $750 worth of insulation I now can’t return. It is pretty funny, I think this is my only real stupid mistake that has cost us money. So over two builds I can’t really complain. I have a little plan for that damp insulation.

Other jobs this week have included cleaning out Camele, which is half done. We sold the mattress from the back really fast. We are wanting to get some container organising done but the weather is not playing around. Oh well, we will get there.

The last day

Today we have our last morning swim together in Lake Lyndon. Germie packs and then we head into Christchurch.

We kill the time by going to Orana Wildlife Park. Jenna doesn’t need to be checking in until the afternoon. So enjoy looking at the cute fuzzies. This wee meerkat is how I feel most mornings.

I use my Nikon P1000 camera to get much better shots. My phone would not have done justice.

I was a little apprehensive taking Jenna there as she is a biologist and works at a Zoo in Osnabruck in Germany. But she was quite happy and said it was a good Zoo.

A bit of a mission to get all her bags sorted and on the plane we went and had a quick bite at Subway which we hadn’t done at all this trip. A very teary goodbye at the airport, we have already started planning what we will do next. It is definitely not the last time you will hear about our adventures with Jenna.

Rowan and I mission is down south. We need to meet Janis who runs the Hospice shop in Ashburton. She has some gold set aside which we are happy to pay more for than what her gold buyer gives her. A win-win for all.

From there we hurry down to Timaru to meet my Nana. She is here with my Aunty Sue, Uncle Paul and their son (my cousin) Matt. Matt is racing one of grandpas old saloon cars. There is a 3 location fun race happening. We get to have a cuppa with them at their Airbnb. Nana has carried down two heavy books that were sent to her from Joanne for us. Two stunning books that she has done up from our Antarctica trip. Finley (Matt’s daughter) really wants to visit Antarctica so it was really cool to show her the photos and talk to her about the trip.

We get home rather late, I turn off my early alarm to let my body wake me up when I am ready. Otherwise I will be like that meerkat in the morning.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing our trip, we have certainly had a lot of fun. If you are laid back and happy to go with the flow, hit us up. We run whirlwind tours of the South Island, free for friends and whanau. X

A beautiful bit of morning light coming in.

We made our way into Greymouth and got some breakfast before heading towards the East.

Germie and I went for a walk at the Brunner Historic Mine.

A little nosy at Lake Brunner and Lake Poerua

Rowan cooked Puffer and we had a swim in the freezing river. Rowan took these awesome split shot photos.

Arthurs Pass and Germie being silly.

Happy Big Birthday Mum! My mum Jane has hit retirement. Now I can take her out and present her gold card for a discount.

Back at Lake Lyndon for the night. Our month with Jenna is nearly over. We have packed a lot in.

Rowan and Germie had their morning swim in the Wairau River. We head off after coffee and don’t make it very far, a proper flat tyre! Even though it is early 7.30am it takes hours to get the AA service out to help us. Rowan sacrificed putting a jack in the tool compartment in order to fit more fun stuff. Obviously this was a calculated risk and we are not all that bothered. We don’t get back in the road until 11am.

We beeline to the Fox River Markets and make it there by 2pm.

Oma (Jenna’s Nana) shouts us lunch. Delicious!

Parked up for night up on the cliff next to the roaring ocean. A beautiful West Coast sunset.

Jenna and I take some instagram shots!

A morning swim in the Pelorus to wake us up and set the day right. We grabbed a bite to eat in Havelock.

In Picton we went to the op shops then on to see if we could find our sign. The definitely no camping sign had been destroyed which was very sad. We bonded over this sign three years ago.

The scenic route following the beautiful coastline. There were so many gorgeous places we wanted to swim but were private. Unfortunately all of the public access ones were a bit pants.

Instead we had a great swim in the Wairau River. But first we had some Puffer for lunch. Delicious German pancakes. In Blenheim we went to the warehouse and to Kmart.

We found a spot about 15min out of St Arnuad for the night. We were going to head south along the coastline but it was silly to do so when we have a few days up our sleeve.