Here are the boys trouble shooting the engine. Trying to work out why it is losing water. The second photo is me pulling apart the place to clean out the lockers and move stuff around.

We have been having some beautiful sunrises and sunsets.

We took the boat out of the Marina and anchored up just on the other side. You’re not allowed to do boat maintenance while in the Marina so we went out to make a bit of noise. There are some rust spots and one of the hatches was leaking so we had to dig a bit further to find the issue. Oh no a holey boat. We will do a semi permanent fix and when we sail south we have a friend in Coffs Harbour who can help us weld a more permanent solution.

Campfire dinner at Roz and Vic’s. Little Allie liked Rowan.

The boys working on the engine

I have had two outings without the boys. First one was learning bowling in Proserpine with Uncle Phil and Aunty Heather. I wasn’t the youngest as they had a woofer (farm worker) from Germany with us and she is 19. Sinja and I got a run down for about 15min on the very basics of lawn bowling, Phil was a pretty good teacher.

Sinja and I were playing in the same game against one another for the first one. It was an even tie. We had two old boys who helped by telling us where to aim at the other side of the field near the jack (small white ball). Phil was on both of our teams as he played for both as we were one person short. It started at 1.30pm and we finished around 3pm. We had a cuppa and a muffin as our break and then we went off to play another game.

The next game Sinja and I were separated. I played atrociously after our break, I feel like I shouldn’t have stopped. But then I got into the swing of things and actually won my team two rounds. Wahoo! My bowls are the green ones, I took photos as I was so proud haha. My team ended up winning by two points. It was a great day out, I think I will bring Rowan back for a game when we can. The hardest part was the heat, and feeling the sun. I can’t imagine playing in summer as winter is warm enough for this Kiwi.

Just a couple of pretty photos. I have been looking at redesigning the paint job on the boat. I have a design in mind and have considered buying another vinyl cutting machine to do it. But by the time I do that it will be pretty costly and I won’t have any use for the machine afterwards. Also the cost to get it done by a sign writer will be in the thousands. I will most likely end up hand painting it with two part epoxy gel coat paint. It is not a job I will do for a long time, but it is fun to work out what I want to do.

I joined some ladies for a quiz night run by SeaKeepers and the marina. The quiz was about the Great Barrier Reef and I thought I would be hopeless as my knowledge is Finding Nemo and that movie is more than 20 years old.

I also hoped to make a few connections but also expected most people to be cliquey. Well it was but I made friends with Gen, a lady from Barosa who is not like that at all. I actually have talked to her a few times early in the morning while getting coffee at the Ocean Club. Oh Ocean Club is where the showers, toilets, laundry are and above is a big deck area with a bbq and coffee facilities a book swap and a little interior chill out lounge. There is a bean to cup coffee machine there which provides me with bean juice.

Back to the main story. Gen and I ended up on the same table and you did your test individually so no groups. There were beautiful food platters and whatever beverage you fancied, I got into the bubbles. Gen and I got the same score in each round and came out with 25 out of 30. It was really funny as we got different questions wrong so we definitely didn’t cheat. The top three had 26 score and had to do some bonus questions in order to figure out who was first. They were some really fancy prizes. I was really happy that I did so well considering my limited knowledge.

SeaKeepers is a non profit organisation that has a but load of scientists around the world. One of the biggest costs is collecting data so cleverly they employ citizen scientists (every day people) to help. There are a lot of vessel owners who can help in different ways. You can put some scientists on board and take them out to gather data. You can also collect data for them, email it off and the scientists then use that to help. I got a coral checking pack for when we are snorkelling we can check the corals and record what we find. You can also get a noise listening device that records the whales. They are trying to develop a sound that can be put on boats that tell the whales not to come near. There is no official data for how many collisions there are but I heard one of the ladies say her friends are waiting to see if their boat is a write off and that 3 were hit with last years rally. I know a lot of humpbacks are migrating but that is a lot of whales! Some really cool initiatives that Rowan and I will definitely get involved in.

More campfire

First photo is taken from David’s block of land looking over Airlie Beach, what a view. An important label, I think it was the gearbox. Rowan searching for a leak. A huge strawberry!

Rowan and David pulled apart the outboard for the dinghy and cleaned out the carburettor at Vic’s. Rowan drilled some anodes for the boat. They are sacrificial metal chunks to protect your propeller and in our case steel hull from corrosion.

I cleaned out the first aid kit and found a few goodies that expired in 1994.

David had a bit of a breakdown and wouldn’t tell us what is wrong. He tried to leave the boat after a few too many so I took the car keys and hid them so he couldn’t try to drive. I ended up calling his wife Jennifer to help us and in the end he called Vic to come pick him up. I really struggled with the situation as Rowan communicates clearly if he is frustrated but David doesn’t so we still dont know what upset him. Even more difficult was hearing David drunkenly go on about how if Rowan wasn’t his son he wouldn’t have anything to do with him. It is just hard for me to hear a father say that to his son and say openly that he tells all his friends this. I cried myself to sleep that night and it was tears for Rowan. I can’t imagine what it would feel like hearing a parent say something like that.

David came back and apologised in a David way a couple days later. Rowan forgave him. I don’t know if I can.

Time to leave Airlie, this is the hard part. We only just got here and I really don’t want to go. Not when I feel like we have barely scratched the surface of getting the boat ready and not when it has taken such a long time to get here. I am rather frustrated. We are heading back to Sydney to look after Bette for 10 days. Bette is very easy to look after and it is not a problem, I’m just itching to properly start living on the boat!

As much as we would love to sail into the sunset there is work to do. The boat needs a good clean and there is a bunch of maintenance to attend to. We also have gear to remove and gear to add. The marina is paid until 22nd August but we are also needed back in Sydney for a couple of weeks which doesn’t give us a lot of time.

I am trying not to buy anything that isn’t strictly necessary and the op shop list is pretty long now. We have most things on the boat already but we will swap out stuff as we go.

This is an antique gimballed kerosene lamp that was on the yacht Mango Groove when Rowan was a child. When his dad went to sell the boat 6 year old Rowan told him he had to remove it and keep it. Consequently each boat David has owned he has been told to remove and put on the next boat. So when he put up Acacia Spray for sale he removed it for Rowan. Well now we own it so it has gone right back where it was. It was made by William Kopsen (1847 – 1930). Read below if you’re interested in his vibrant history (copied from Australian Dictionary of Biography Vol 9 – by Barbara Dale).

William Kopsen (1847-1930), manufacturer and ship-chandler, was born on 29 December 1847 and baptized Gustaf Wilhelm at Vaxholm, Sweden, only son of Erik Gustav Kopsen, marine customs house porter, and his wife Anna Greta, née Ohrstrom. His early childhood was marred by family discord and straitened circumstances. Orphaned at 15 he lived in 1862-64 on a farm at Osteraker where he was tutored by the rector Dr Samuel Ponten who encouraged Kopsen to study geography and anthropology.

From 1864 Kopsen worked as a shop assistant and book-keeper in Stockholm. He migrated in 1868, reaching Sydney on 10 September. After working as a cook and shepherd on sheep-stations near Bathurst, he went next year to the Clarence River where he bought a small boat and traded. But, ‘seized by a longing to see the Fiji Islands’, he joined the missionary ship John Wesley and reached Levuka in May 1870. For two years he transported cargoes round the islands and early in 1873 became a book-keeper in Levuka, while acting as commission agent for Swedish planters. In 1875 he established W. Kopsen & Co., with J. C. Smith, to import and trade in textiles and general merchandise. By the late 1870s he was a member of the hospital board, secretary of the yacht and rifle clubs, and consul for Sweden and Norway from 1881.

Britain had annexed Fiji in 1874 and in 1877 Kopsen was naturalized. In Levuka on 20 October he married Laura Theresa Turner from Sydney. He had sent articles about native customs, flora and fauna to a Stockholm newspaper, and donated artefacts from the South Pacific to a Swedish museum — in 1882 he was elected to the Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography. When the capital was moved to Suva that year, Kopsen moved too and in 1883 became an alderman and mayor. He was a member of the Marine Board and in 1885 formed and was chairman of the Fiji Fire and Marine Insurance Co. Ltd.

In 1889 Kopsen settled in Sydney, carrying on business at 70 Clarence Street as Smith & Kopsen, ship-chandler. After Smith retired the firm of W. Kopsen & Co. Ltd was registered in December 1905. On a cycling tour of the Snowy Mountains he became interested in a timber which locals called ‘mountain ash’. Foreseeing its commercial potential, Kopsen in 1906 built a plant at Auburn, where tests indicated its suitability for oars and implement handles. When transport of the timber proved difficult and costly, a factory was built at Laurel Hill, near Batlow, where ‘Pioneer’ oars and handles were made. By 1927 W. Kopsen & Co. Ltd were contractors to government departments and always had 10,000 oars ready for delivery within Australia and shipment to the Pacific Islands. He did much to revive the Australian timber industry and to reduce domination by American imports.

From 1911 Kopsen served as foundation senior vice-president of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce for Australia, New Zealand and South Sea Islands, and in 1923-28 was honorary vice-consul for Sweden. In 1914 he was largely responsible for erecting a monument at Kurnell to Daniel Solander.

Described as ‘a giant, elegant both in appearance and manners’, Kopsen had great personal charm, humanity and optimism, with the ability to organize, act quickly and take command. He had been brought up as a Lutheran, believing in the virtues of thrift, industry and self-discipline; in Australia he was a Congregationalist. He visited Sweden in 1910 and afterwards said that ‘a good wind blew over my head the day I travelled away from the old country’. Kopsen retired in 1928 and died at his home at Strathfield on 15 August 1930; he was cremated. His estate was valued for probate at £34,092. His wife, two sons and three daughters survived him. In 1983 William Kopsen & Co. was carried on by a grandson.

Rowan and David working in the engine room

Metal detectors! Rowan and I used to have a couple years ago and we have purchased two ex demo ones. One can go down to 60m and the other is more for on land but can handle getting wet too. We will be hunting for treasure in no time.

We took a trip up Brandy Creek Road to Uncle Phil’s places. It was great to meet Heather and Phil as I have heard a lot about them. Their place is in a beautiful bush setting and Phil is a bit of a wheeler dealer. Rowan came helped remove a drive shaft from an old ute. It was a bit of a mission. I supervised.

Sunrise and a sunset in the marina

We are off! Let’s take this bad boy for a spin! We are going out for a couple of days to see what else we may need to do.

I did a bit of hull scraping before we left as we have our own reef growing under the boat. It is due to be slipped and new anti foul put on. We will do that within the next 6 months. It is perfect sailing weather.

I am feeling very lucky, I have spotted a bottle nose dolphin and a humpback whale. Not bad for my first trip on the boat.

First night we spent on a mooring at Dumbell Island. Rowan took me into shore on the dinghy and we went snorkelling around to see all the stunning coral and sea life. Even though I have run out of contact lenses it was incredible to see. Did come across some jellyfish but they are not ones that sting, phew.

First sunrise at sea on Acacia Spray

Good morning cruel world. We were aiming to leave early to go to Whitehaven Beach but our engine won’t start. The boys fluff about for an hour and manage to sort it out. Something about bleeding or air to get it going. This happens throughout the day until we finally realise it is one of two things that they tighten to fix the issue. Wh

Whitehaven is exactly like the photos incredible white sand, blue water and blue skies. We take the metal detector for a swing on the beach. We really need to learn the codes for this machine.

Second night we stay on a mooring in Hook Passage at the Cairn. It is between Hook Island and Whitsundays Island.

We set off early to False Nara Inlet, it is exactly what you think it is. A false bay that would make you think you had made it to Nara Inlet. There were two Green turtles there which was awesome to see. Rowan kept seeing them yesterday and I kept missing them. We didn’t a stay long, just had some breakfast and headed back to the marina. David has an appointment on Monday so we needed to be back at lunchtime. The wind was great for sailing and we averaged 7 knots on the way back.

Here is our course expertly mapped.

We arrived pretty exhausted. Rowan even fell asleep on the couch. The rainbow lorikeets love coming over to say hi! We have had a lot of fun with Justin, Rowan’s youngest cousin. Lots of Snorkeling, swimming and adventures. Photos are of Little Bay. Rowan grabbed a shark by its tail here.

We trekked up to Dungog to see Heather, Kaity and the kids. They have all grown a heap in the year it has been since we last saw them. It was great to have a good catch up. We even got time to help out around the house. They had been waiting for someone to be able to replace their dishwasher so we got that sorted for them. There was a light that needed replacing which was pretty dodgy when it was wired up. But in Australia you can’t replace light fittings yourself it has to be an electrician, we left that alone. We went for a little skinny dip in the river, the water was fresh. Not as cold as NZ. They also have a new family member, the cutest mini pony for the kids to ride. It’s kept out at grandmas land. It was really lovely to catch up with Heathers grandma and her mum too.

Joanne took us to a delicious restaurant for Rowans 40th Birthday. Experiences are always preferable. This is L’Entrecôte, there are two in Sydney. They started in France and I think there is one in London too and they are well known for their sauce that goes with their steak. The food was perfect, it was delicious, I tried a steak tartare. We also shared a Foie gras. I can see what the fuss is about, Rowan and I agree that it’s not worth the cruelty. There are a few farms who do it ethically, it costs a lot but I think it’s worth it to not have the cruelty behind it. The Apple tartan was incredible, I shared it with Joanne and I am glad I did there was no way I could eat it on my own. They only make 6 a day so it was something I had to try.

More snorkelling and swimming with Justin. We have come down to La Perouse a few times now to swim at Congwong Beach. The water is pretty fresh, I can last about 30min in there to an hour. I haven’t used my wetsuit but probably should if I want to stay in longer.

Unbelievably Rowan actually got a beautiful crayfish around the corner near Bare Island. It’s an Eastern Rock Lobster. I always think of it as a crayfish as it doesn’t have lobster claws.

We got it back to the apartment to cook it.

An early start to make sure we were in the Royal National Park before the sun rises. We went straight to Wattamolla Beach and couldn’t resist a swim. It wasn’t until we were in the water that I pointed out to Rowan we are swimming at peak Great White Shark feeding time. There have been quite a few more attacks recently. We just moved to a more shallow area to reduce the risk. The water was super clear and beautiful. A beautiful sunrise while swimming.

We continued through the National park to Garrie and at the lookout I got to see my very first Lyre bird. I was so excited. They’re the icon of the NSW national park. Notorious for being hard to spot, you normally hear them rather than see them. But of course they mimicked all the birds. I went back to the car for my camera and got an identification shot.

The whole reason for this trip south was to catch up with our friend Danny from Ōamaru. We haven’t seen him in a few years and we missed our nights out camping together.

Paula Hall – Child Welfare NZ approves of this message. “No child left behind”

It took the day prior to bake everything for Bette’s party. There were 11 of us to celebrate her 96th Birthday. Rowan and I over catered, but at least we didn’t run out of food. The cake was strawberry and lime.

The next day Justin, Rowan and I got up early to do the Wollangambe in the Blue Mountains. It is a hike in and a lilo down the creek which I would call a river and it’s a canyon. We are doing the first part which doesn’t need ropes and experience just good fitness. Well we drive the 2.5 hours to find the road is closed and only open to residents. The guys at the boom gate have been there since Easter and they said it will be at least a year before the road is open again. I feel like every time I go the Blue Mountains it is closed lol. It was rather annoying but we just decided it was worth going somewhere else for a walk and a swim.

These photos are from Evan’s Lookout

We found another Lyre bird in the wild. How cool we could hear it sing didn’t get great photos.

3 sisters

At the Wentworth Falls carpark and lookout there were two cheeky Lyre birds and they let me get very close. I was gutted I didn’t bring my camera but of course I planned to be getting we down a canyon.

A lot of stairs down to Empress Falls which means there is a lot of steep stairs up. At the bottom was a very cold water hole that we all hopped in. It must have been 5 degrees or less. I swam to the waterfall then I got promptly out. All those cold plunges trained me for 10 seconds of stinging water.

We then went to Jellybean Pool. Where the sun came out and see swam across to sunbathe on the rocks like monitor lizards. It was no where near as cold as Empress. Our timing was perfect as we got out other people showed up. Three groups in fact. It cost $8 for entrance.

After we demolished some yesterday sandwiches and birthday cake we headed out and turned left to see what was further down the cliffside. We discovered there is a whole lot more to see and to do. You go over a ford and there is all this extra wilderness. A large area for camping. Beautiful views of the neapon river. Aboriginal art and loads of places to have a walk or a picnic. What a great discovery, thanks Rowan for pointing out we should go left.

Red hands cave paintings. Each one is a different person. I really enjoyed the bush walk seeing all the flora.

We headed back to Sydney from there.

Joanne and I went for a walk and watched the sunrise in Coogee. It was a nice outing and we stopped by Tuga Pastries to check out their food. One of the guests brought lovely Portuguese tarts to the birthday party so we had to check out what else they had on offer. I had an amazing eggs Benedict danish. It was the most delicious eggs Benedict I have ever had. I will be coming back to try more delicacies soon.

Airlie Beach here we come. We are off to the boat, it was an afternoon flight that got us in after 6pm. David (Rowan’s Dad) picked us up and we headed to Airlie Beach for dinner. We had a nice meal before getting to the boat. By the time we had done our evening set up and ablutions it was 11.30pm and I went to bed wiped.

The day has arrived to dig up the road. It has taken a long time to get here. We also have our Sparky on site finishing the wiring. I got a pretty certificate at the end. South Roads hasn’t finished their part but I don’t care. I am just glad I have my part in. We stayed around to make sure they connected the water and put the water Toby in. Literally their one job for the day and they didn’t bring the tool that means the water turns on. They promised me 2 days or so to do it. Rowan told them not good enough as our plumber is here tomorrow and needs the water on. So they needed up getting a worker who lives I. Palmerston to do it on his way to Ōamaru tomorrow morning. Our Skevingtons contractors were great, I just wished we could have used them for the full job. The digger driver even kindly moved our tree stump for us. Rowan wanted it away from the power line so we can set it alight one day.

We have Dave the plumber and Chris our digger man on site today. Dave is finishing off the plumbing and Chris is finishing off our landscaping. It took a few trucks off rocks to finish it off and moving some earth too. But it is much better. Dave had trouble with the toilet and realised he didn’t connect it properly, so he fixed it easily. But this is why you turn the water on as soon as possible to see if there is any issues.

Wednesday, today it is just Rowan and I. We are here finishing off jobs. The council inspector shows up around 10am to do the final inspection. Wahoo we pass with flying colours.

Carpet is here! It is a big push today. The carpet is going in and Rowan and I have a fair bit to do too. We also run off to Dunedin to go to Bunnings, The Warehouse and Recycle Boutique. I need a hair dryer if I want to get exterior paint dry today. It works a charm. After the carpet layers are gone I get into my touch up paint. Rowan and I collapse at 6.30pm and go home. What a day.

Friday and Saturday are a bit of a blur. We have a day in town running around on Friday and get back to Herbert around 2pm. Rowan and I get into a few jobs that need to be sorted. We also have a big list for tomorrow. Bette is going and the first job is to unpack her ready to go on the move. Sylvia and I follow Jim in her ute. The drive takes about an hour and a half. Rowan stays behind to level up Jo and to reconnect the water and cook dinner. We moved the truck forward and so it needed to be done asap. Rowan literally has bruises all over his abdomen from getting under the truck. Crazy!

Sunday, oh I forgot to mention in all the chaos we also sold the house. The new owners are getting early access today and starting to put furniture in. I cleaned like a mad woman and Rowan worked outside fixing up gates and cleaning up outside. I got a few photos done just as they arrived. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect.

The day is far from over. Rowan gets onto the roof of the containers and starts putting up the iron. It’s is getting pretty dark and the iron is wet with condensation when he finishes.

Alistair comes to help us get the last jobs done. We are very thankful for the help. it was about 3pm when we finally got the jobs done and could pack. We did it in the fastest way possible. Throwing things into bags and weighing them. There was no rhyme or reason. We got 5 out of the 6 bags done. Then we ran off to Ōamaru to go see Jerry and Margaret. Plus a few other last minute errands. Then dinner with Laura and Alistair. We got home beyond tired. At midnight I got to sleep. What a day.

Goodbye! We hit the road

We have two nights in Christchurch before flying. There is a few people we want to see before we go. It is pretty full on, but in a good way. I manage to send a bunch of messages before we go. However I still have a long list to get through while in Sydney. We also have a goodbye to Noodly, the new owner has picked her up.

I noticed the newly commissioned art installation in the bathroom, and was going to enquire about it, before remembering that one doesn’t need to fully understand art in order to appreciate its beauty.

We got an early uber to the airport, it feels really strange to have so much luggage.

I safely landed us into Sydney. The ride over was quite bumpy but after trying to go up, down, to the side and still finding turbulence I gave up and left the auto pilot on. AI is so good now, didn’t even need to land the plane. It really is a sit there and look pretty kind of job now. Thanks to Air New Zealand for trusting me to get us all to Sydney.

We were being cheeky and that cheekiness got me into the cockpit with the pilots. Got to love AirNZ ❤️

We made it through customs without a hitch. It may have been obvious that we are packing our life up to be on a boat with all the strange gear we brought with us.

What a week. I am exhausted! We have been fighting the whole week to get ducks to stay in their rows as much as humanly possible. It has been an epic push to get it all sorted.

It started on Monday when it was a very wet day, South Roads are on site to put in the manhole, we didn’t bother to go to site. Our first roadblock occurred when I checked my tradies are under control to find my plumber wasn’t. The drain layer we sorted at Laser Plumbing fell through. So we frantically called every one we knew to help us out. I ended up getting a couple of recommendations of the same guy. I called him up damsel in distress, he said he could meet me tomorrow morning on site.

Tuesday morning rolls in, we get to site and find some holes but no man holes yet.

We sold off all our fence posts that we haven’t used.

Wednesday, I had to beg Skevingtons to dig the trench for my electrical connection and drainage. I didn’t want to change my electrician from coming today as there are two guys lined up behind him to connect the power. We are trying our best to stop the domino effect. South Roads came for a sniff but hasn’t installed the manhole. Maybe tomorrow!

Big day, we have plumber, drainlayer and South Roads all working on site. Well the plumber and drain layer are working. Not sure about South Roads who turned up at 11am, then took another hour before any real movement. Then took until 4pm to actually lower in the man hole. I am glad we paid a fixed quote and not a time and materials cost. Drainlayer finished just after lunch and plumber finished at 3pm. Great to have some productive work done.

Friday, no work on site. Maybe South Roads showed up but I doubt it. We will have Skevingtons come first thing on Monday to cut across the road.

We went out on a charter boat from Moeraki to go fishing for Blue Cod. It was a lot of fun, Rowan and I got loads of fish and it was great seeing all the extra wildlife. The group overall caught (a lot we put back), Blue Cod, Red Cod, Sharks, Red Perch, Crimson something a rather, barracuda and tarakihi. We got one show off NZ fur seal. A lot of birds gulls and petrels. The best part was getting a few Southern Royal Albatross show up. They did not let the large petrels or smaller birds get anything haha.

After we had lunch at the local tavern and then went home to get out of our fishy clothes. We took the fish over to Jim & Silvija to enjoy. The fish was absolutely delicious.

Sunday was pretty chill, we got a few things done around Herbert.

We had another go at getting our jobs done in Dunedin. Success! However it wasn’t an easy day off as we had hoped. It turned into a full on day of phone calls and running around.

We are getting there. A favour or two each way between us and our neighbours. Jim needed a bunch of wood chips for his garden so we picked up 5 huge bags. We managed four on the first load. Pretty cheap too at $350 for all of it.

We had a nice dinner with Laura, Alistair and the kids. It has been a while since we caught up and it was fun to load the kids up with sugar as we left.

Rowan is on a mission to install a bit of a roof over the container. I helped pass up tools between organising boxes of stuff for the container. Together we unloaded the spare trailer. We had a bunch of vintage stuff in there from the Swapmeet. A local guy was going to buy it all for his shop but times are tough at the moment and he is easing on buying. Not a problem for us as we have the storage space.

All of these left over Oregon planks are going up to Jim’s as he has a use for them. Thankful for use of the tractor as it makes the job a lot easier.

We had a nice lunch at the Fort Enfield Tavern before unloading the wood at Jim’s. I had a lot of alcoholic ginger beer, which I am not sure was a good idea. Not because I felt tipsy just a stomachs full of food and fizzy while unloading all that wood. But by the time we unloaded it all I was pretty sober. The boys continued drinking so we ended up putting Jim’s bike on the trailer and I took us all back to Herbert. The boys were all squished in haha.

The past two weeks have been busy but also slow. I have managed to read about 5 books, too much time on my hands. It has been incredibly frustrating getting the services sorted and the date was set but then it changed. Hoping we are now locked in for 15th & 16th to get the job done. In the meantime we have been getting our belongings organised.

Chris stuffed his rotator cuff and it took a little longer than we wanted to finish off the pads for the containers.

Rowan dismantled the lean to next to the container and we brought the sorted all the tools that we stored beneath it.

Rowan and I have a bunch to do in Dunedin so we headed off to Palmerston first to drop off stuff. While we were there we went to Skevingtons to see when they can move our container to Herbert. They tried to lift it a couple of weeks ago and said it may be too heavy. We continued to Dunedin and didn’t get any of our jobs off the list. We had a late breakfast and dropped off some clothes to the recycle boutique and continued on to Rowan’s eye appointment.

This will sausage made it for the wrong week, so no eye appointment. Then when we were about to head to Bunnings I got a call to say they had got the container onto the truck and they were taking it up to Herbert. So we dropped what we were doing and started to head back. Officially didn’t tick anything off the list as I was supposed to go back to the recycle store.

Upside we got our containers into place with minimal damage. The one from Palmerston suffered a bit, but we closed it back up as a problem for another day.

Our wonderful builder Graham came to finish off jobs on Friday and we didn’t quite make it to the finish line on Friday so he came back on Saturday to complete it. We are so grateful as he is off to Vanuatu for a couple of weeks. It feels a bit strange to know we don’t need a builder now on site.

On Sunday we got Bette out of the field and onto the driveway where the container was. We sold Bette to our neighbour. We really only pre moved her as we are worried it’s going to get too wet to easily get her out.

We are doing our best to get along with other chores as we wait for the services to be connected. A fair amount of prodding all week gets us a result on Thursday with the council giving us a cost for the contributions and Southroads connection cost. We haven’t locked in yet as we are discussing with Skevingtons which part of Southroads is for us to pay and what part is for them. Hopefully it will be sorted on Monday.

We did a day in Palmerston with Alistair coming to help. When getting ready I couldn’t find the circular saw. Rowan and I hunted high and low with no luck. We must of left it in the house. Turns out we left it in the grass next to fence for the past month. Rowan shows me it covered in frost and it still works! Now that’s a power tool haha. I can’t believe no one took it.

The boys focused on the fence, Rowan sucked all the water mud out of the holes and Alistair filled them up with gravel and rammed them into place. I focused on painting the exterior window surrounds and then a bit of interior trim.

I practiced on my motorbike all week to prepare myself for a lesson and my full test on Friday. I did really well in the lesson I was relaxed and Trevor said he thinks I am ready for my test but of course if I make a major mistake he can’t pass me, so it’s not a guarantee but he thinks I should go ahead. I am nervous and like a complete different rider, they must take this into consideration as I did not perform great and I was sure I had failed. The test was in Timaru and in the industrial Washdyke area and he asked me to turn right. The traffic was crazy busy I went to go and hesitated but didn’t cross the white line. We were there for a while when I realised I can use the flush median doh! I was sure that was going to fail me. He also told me turn instructions a little too late for my liking which made me either slow too fast or too late haha. I also did 80 through a 100 zone for a long time because of one of these turns and I wasn’t sure what the speed limit was because I was so focused on making the turn correctly that I didn’t see a sign. However I managed to stay under the limit which means I won’t fail on that. He even took me down a 60 country road that should have been at least 80. Well I somehow passed which made me very surprised and happy haha. We didn’t book Rowan in as wanted to make sure if I needed to resit the test I can in a few weeks. Trevor had no one else booked after us so off they went and Rowan also passed. He thought he hadn’t too, because of a few things he did wrong that he wasn’t sure if it would make him fail. Here we are, both full licensed riders and drivers! Wahoo.

With no time to celebrate we jumped on our bikes and headed to Rolleston, Christchurch. Rowan kindly did his test on the Himalayan so we could drop it off afterwards. We had talked about me riding the Himalayan up to drop it off and we come back on Rowan’s yellow bike which is a lot more comfortable. But not being confident I would pass my test on the bigger bike Rowan said we should take my TU as I will be more confident and comfortable. We got that all done around 6pm and went on an uncomfortable two up all the way back to Ōamaru. We got a big stretch done without stopping and stopped in Timaru for dinner before getting back around 10pm. Exhausted and cold we both needed to warm up and chill out before bed.

In the weekend we attacked the lean to storage area off the container. Didn’t quite empty it but would like to have it all done soon so we are ready when it’s time to move the containers.

We did a trip up to Jim’s farm and came back with a load of wood for his sister in law Velta. We like efficiency. We got majority of jobs off our to do list this week. So it is time to make this week’s list and go achieve it!

We had a lovely time in Picton catching up with James and Connor. Kate and baby Bowen were in England as her mother took a turn so she rushed over to be there for her.

The Queen Charlotte track is a beautiful walk (we only did a small part of it) when we stopped for a snack for Connor we ended up a piglet on our toes. It didn’t complain too much about being captured and luckily we didn’t get an angry muma coming at us. The poor wee fella must have lost his mum and while I think he is a pest he deserves a home at least until Christmas when he is big enough to be ham. Along our walk we offered him to all the local looking walkers. Back at the start/end of the track the caravan that sold ice creams was open we asked if they would take it or if they knew someone. They had taken in a piglet in the past but was about to go away for a month. They needed up calling a neighbour who happily agreed to take little pig. A very happy ending.

A very picturesque ferry crossing. I did eventually fall asleep and had a little nap.

Once in Wellington we caught up with Michaela and Gareth who we have missed the last few times.

In the afternoon we headed up to Shane & Lisa’s place in Whanganui. Rowan cooked dinner and we had a lovely catch up.

The following day we headed north to Reporoa to stay with my sister Sarah and her family. We took the scenic route around Mt Ruapehu. Rowan wanted to sit in the plane in Taupo as he hadn’t done that before.

Sarah & Keelan’s kids are growing fast and they’re about to move into Rotorua. They have purchased a house that needs a renovation. If they decide to vlog or blog about it I will be sure to let you know.

We stayed in Papamoa for 6 nights. My cousin and two of her kids joined us in the weekend. We had lots of swims in the surf and even spotted a very large Bronze Whaler. Rowan got the kids out after seeing it, not because he was worried, but he didn’t want to be responsible for a shark nibble. We also did some fishing and had some great walks at Maketu and Mt Maunganui.

Rowan and I have our gold and some silver with us to take to a refinery in Penrose. The melt it down for us and we can sell it to them or they can give it back to us in ingot form.

Rowan helped mum with a bit of a pickle with one of her properties so we had to go out and celebrate.

In Te Awamutu we caught us with my aunty and more cousins and lots of babies. It was great to see them all, they all grow up so fast!

We spent a night at my Dads place on Beachlands. A very nice catch up with him and Sue. Dad just had a big 70th birthday and this silly sausage forgot his gift in Christchurch. I will need to post it to him.

We have use of a car while up in Auckland. Paul is overseas for work and my sister Emma has lovingly let us use his car. She warned me it’s thirsty but we have been driving Camele, who is a lot more thirsty than his Volvo.

A warm welcoming in Whangaparāoa. My Nana went all out with a wonderful home cooked meal on our first night. It was absolutely delicious, we had mussel fritters and lovely crumbed fish.

On Saturday we said goodbye to our beloved Camele, she went off to her new home.

We also had a chance to catch up with Lynne, Rowans cousin and my friend Sarah and her family.

On Mother’s Day we took my sister Emma’s kid Ellery off her for a few hours so she could get some stuff done. We first met at Mitre10 for a coffee and a play date with my sister Clare and daughter Skylar. Clare suggested a tree tops walk in Northcote where you walk among the giant Kauri trees. We went in and out of the park so many times I think we must have washed our shoes about 16 times on our walk. The bird life was great and it is awesome having a forest in a city.

In the afternoon we went to Runamuck for a little shindig. It is great to see all the trees growing. Rowan and Ellery ended up hunting for all sorts of things in the bush.

We had a couple of nights at Emma’s house and my mum was up for Nana duties as Emma was away for work. We got an extra night with Nana on Tuesday night where we took her out for dinner and we had a great morning and lunch with her the next day.

Rowan and I are on Aunty & Uncle duty in Warkworth at Clare’s. She is also away for work so it is great to have a chance to help out as normally I am way too far away. We had Skylar on Wednesday night and dropped her off to school on Thursday morning before flying to Christchurch later on that day. I was very thankful for the use of Pauls (Emma’s partner) car. It made getting around very easy.