Monday, rained off from site. Was hoping to get a day out of our builders but it’s a bit filthy. We head into town instead and hit the jackpot of delicious Porcini mushrooms. So many of them Rowan made them into a soup.

On Tuesday we have the Sparkys here doing the internal fit out. They haven’t finished and will need another day to connect the power and finish off. Rowan and I helped where needed but mostly worked outside starting the rails on the fence.

Wednesday we had Graham on site, it was just a focus on getting the deck done. I was inside painting while the boys worked on the deck. They literally kept going until there was no power left in the battery powered tools

On Thursday we had a grand plans with Lance our carpet man. It wasn’t until we hit Moeraki I had a brain wave and realised he needs power in order to do the carpet. Also ideally a warm room as it makes the carpet stretching a lot easier. Boy it has been frosty! We end up cancelling but Rowan and I continue to site as we have a bit to do. We finish off the fences (as far as we can get). Clean up the site from all the loose wood and rubbish. Put a load on our trailer to take to Alistair. Make sure the container is tightly packed ready to be moved and then head home.

Once we got home we got to packing and getting ready to head off. Tomorrow we start heading to the North Island to drop Camele off.

We have dinner with Laura, Alistair and the kids and get home exhausted.

Heading North, first stop is in Timaru. We help Jo out at the hospice for a few hours before continuing to Ashburton then Christchurch. We are staying with Rick and Liz. I finally remember that I have a plastering job to do there. I promised a long time ago I would fix up some GIB near the heatpump that was needed to replace their old model. I remembered my tools and got 90% done before we left on Saturday.

We left Christchurch around 2pm and headed to Picton. The drive was really lovely and the sunset around Kaikōura made it more special.

It’s time to do Mondays job. We have the wonderful Chris here to start the landscaping for Brough. We are not going too nuts as a lot of it will be ripped up with the connection to services. But this gives us a bit of a start. We are creating a parking area at the front along with some form of rock garden around the decking area. I have purchased a bunch of natives that will grow up to make a great area. We also got him to auger out post holes for us so we can put a fence around our corner block.

Plumbing day, Dave is here to make a good start on our plumbing. We have another day and a half of work to do. But this is all we will do for now as we do need to connect up. I painted the first coat into the trim and doors. Rowan pulled down the lean to at the container. We are taking this container to Herbert.

In other news we have sold our beloved Camele, I am going to be quite sad to see her go. We have been asked to deliver her to Manly, Whangaparāoa, talk about a small world.

Our kitchen saga continues… still waiting on the missing panel. We came into M10 to pick up the benchtop to find it has been damaged. Argh so now that needs to be remade.

We are on a mission to get tidied up and organised. The resource recovery field is getting a good clean up. We took three loads to the Hampden tip most to be utilised but some of it was just scrap metal which they will make money on. Rowan has been working on the fences at Palmerston. Maybe someone would want to put a horse or something in it.

I did a TBC because oh trip was a bit interrupted. Which really sucked so I thought I would seperate it so I am not being a downer on the birthday post.

At the start of our scavenger hunt we got a phone call from the builder saying he is on site. What is he doing today. I told him he isn’t supposed to be there as the kitchen doesn’t arrive until the following day. So I rang the boss and told him he has gotten his days mixed up and we said definitely not this Tuesday/Wednesday, come Thursday/Friday. That in itself was annoying.

Next on Rowan’s list was an op shop challenge but before we started that we thought we better get one last Ferg. While we were eating we get the next phone call this time from Mitre10. We can’t deliver your kitchen the truck Hiab has broken. We push back and ask them to find a different solution. They kept putting it back on us, incredibly frustrated we decide we need to get back to pick up a bloody kitchen for tomorrow.

We kind of do the challenge and go op shopping in Queenstown before leaving.

We kind of part do the challenge but it’s not an exactly what I had planned. We ended up getting our bottoms back to Ōamaru to get our trailer and pick up the kitchen.

One of the most frustrating parts was the kitchen was loaded on the truck last Wednesday ready to go Tim just didn’t want to unload it into the house on his own. Which I realise now how insane that is as I can lift each cabinet. We offered our sack barrow to make life easy. He said next week and we said he would have the same issue as we are not around.

A grumpy Rowan (understandably) comes for the kitchen at Mitre10 the kitchen designer puts it onto our trailer on his own. He is not Mr Strong. We take it home and plan to finish Rowan’s birthday hunt another day.

Thursday kitchen day! The benchtop isn’t here yet (don’t get me started!) but we get in as much of the cabinets we can. The upper cupboards are incorrect and they are supposed to be a bit longer so they done need handles. These ones are going to need handles. The muppets at Peter Hay have put these little plastic protectors on the wrong side of the upper cupboard which now means they need to be removed and I now have holes in it. Plus I have an entire filler panel missing. I swear I can’t make this shit up.

On Friday Graham got the trim in the house complete and sealed around all the exterior windows. Then we made a start on the deck! The wind took an empty concrete bag into the creek. Man this creek likes to give us a challenge haha

On Saturday I had planned to continue the hunt but we ended up going up to Jim’s farm and picked up the yellow bike. We went home over Myers Pass which was incredibly beautiful. The Cave is on a neighbouring farm.

Monday, we are ready for a day on site with Chris and his digger. Rowan and I head off and we wanted a couple of cops zoom past with their lights on. Before we got to the top of the Hill at Hampden we were stopped. The cop told us a big accident at least an hour delay. So we turn around and head home. I call Chris to let him know. So I get the fire warm again and we read our books. Chris goes past so we think maybe he knows something we don’t. NZTA website still says the road is closed. We meet him up at the local garage and there we find the latest information when we flag down a car. Lucky for us this car was at the front of the queue and waited for the last hour. It’s going to be at least 5 hours and the only detour is to drive out to Oamarama, Cromwell, then back in land on the Pigroot. Quite the detour! Apparently a logging truck lost its back trailer, not sure if it broke or unhitched. With incredibly bad timing as it took out a main freight truck and the firefighters spent an hour cutting him out before the helicopter took him to Dunedin. So there are logs and two very big trucks to remove plus an investigation. Monday will now become Tuesday.

So what’s a girl to do! Well let’s finish this hunt once and for all. Rowan’s op shop challenge was to dress up his outfit. He did that and got his bonus prize. A poetry book. We also did the nature bingo in Ōamaru Gardens and he did a few side quests too like climb a tree.

Rowan turns the big four oh which is a great excuse to get away. I organised a few days away.

Sunday morning we head off onto the Pigroot. We turn inland at Kyeburn to go an attempt that 4wd track we tried to do in Camele a while ago. It was an easy track and we didn’t even need to put her in 4wd. The scenery was incredible. Not a surprise but some of the area was filmed in LOTR for Rohan. Poolburn Dam was bigger than I thought it would be and there were a lot of bach/cribs along the water. I planned to picnic at the dam but Rowan and I were not hungry so we carried on.

When we nearly hit Alexandra we stopped at Chatto Creek Tavern. A place we have gone past several times and it always appears to be busy so we thought we should try it. The food was really good and I can see why it is a popular place. Great outside area perfect for families and it’s right on the Otago Rail Trail.

We took a quick dunk into Lake Dunstan before continuing on to our Airbnb. It is right next to Lake Hayes.

Tonight we are having a fancy degustation meal at Amisfield Winery. There are 21 different things to eat and I think there were 16 wines. I was going to go dry and be the designated driver until I discovered we are 750m away so we walked. It is the most I have ever spent on one meal but it was more than a meal it was a full experience.

It was close to four hours we were there. Our Sommelier Remmy gave us wine from the $300 more expensive list. I think he just enjoyed our enthusiasm and he took quite a shine to the birthday boy. They were very discreet when wishing Rowan a happy birthday which he was very happy about. He has trauma from being sung birthdays at restaurants as a kid haha.

Every item was incredibly done, some I loved some I could easily leave. The details in every dish you could tell that there was hours upon hours put into each dish. Some people have found the experience quite macabre, we didn’t but I can see how it could be confronting if you never think about what animal gives you your food. There was a huge king crab which we assumed would be from Alaska but was surprised it is off NZ in the deep water.

Ivan the venison steak man was impressed that we knew that the knives he uses to serve his meal are Peter Lorimer knives. He said in the 2 years he has been there we are the first to know and notice. We told him that we have had Peter make us a knife handle before. Ivan was lots of fun I wanted to stay outside and keep chatting to him.

Happy birthday Rowan!

Off to the lake for a morning swim and we warmed up in the hot tub. Feeling a bit hungry and I was feeling a bit hungover we headed to Arrowtown to get a Ferg. There is a Fergburger there and they have a small menu to choose from. I felt much better after food.

I booked a wine tour with Joe who combines the Maori culture and history into his tours. It was just the three of us and we had a great time. Three different wineries, first one was Mora, second Mt Rosa, third was Monte Cristo. I really didn’t need more wine but hair of the dog and all that. At each winery we got a bottle to take with us. Each one was something that tasted like you couldn’t get it from a supermarket.

To book a tour with Joe in Wānaka or Queenstown find him on Google “Wanahaka”

After that we headed into Frankton to a studio that does saunas and ice baths as well as these Float tanks. You shower first then hop into these cocoon pod pools. They are not very deep, they have 500kg of epsom salts dissolved into them. It’s like a sensory depravation tank. It was an hour and I absolutely loved it, the time went so fast and my brain was so quiet. Rowan did not enjoy it but he also said it went fast so he must have chilled out a little. He always wanted to try it and is glad he has. I would go once a week, haha.

The wine mixed with a warm bath for an hour with not any fresh air probably wasn’t the smartest move. Oh well done it now, we grabbed some supplies from the supermarket and went back to the airbnb. I went to sleep, I drank a load of water and I just needed to sleep off that float tank and all that wine.

Tonight we are having a one thousand percent difference in cost with our dinner. Our two noodle bowls cost the grand sum of $2.

The birthday fun continues with a scavenger hunt. Today I planned a full day of hunting. The first clue lead us to Arrowtown where Rowan had to find me 10 leaves. Explore the Chinese settlement and have a delicious breakfast at Kahwah.

I had to skip ahead a few clues as it took longer than I expected. I had planned lots of side quests to fill in time but didn’t really plan for needing more time. Not to worry, we can fill those ones in later. I wanted to do skydiving but weight restrictions I wasn’t sure if Rowan would be light enough. Instead I thought why not a 4wd buggy thing. I have never been on one and Rowan hasn’t either. We are on the same mountain as the gondola but further around towards the Shotover River. Rowan was the driver I was the co driver. Sam the instructor/guide stayed at the very front. We had a driving Miss Daisy in the front, and English guy with his son in the middle and us at the end. In order to have a bit of we just hung back a bit and let them all get ahead of us so we could then take it a bit faster.

At the end Sam took us all three at a time for a quick spin. Man it’s like chalk and cheese he could make that thing fly. He was so quick. It was a neat experience

Next clue on the list was lunch and of course I had to get Rowan’s favourite Fergburger.

After Fergburger we went to Patagonia Ice cream shop. Great ice cream! 10/10.

Next on the list is an hour and a half deep tissue massage at Pirom. It was in the same room and man they did a good job at getting in there.

At this point I gave Rowan the option of continuing the hunt or to go back to the Airbnb and relax for the rest of the night. He chose to go back to the Airbnb.

TBC…

We took trusty Camele to Orari/Geraldine racecourse for the Swapmeet. We stopped in at the Hospice in Timaru and helped Jo out for a few hours. We ended up taking Camele because we decided to camp overnight. Our friend Jase was there as we pulled in. We had a great catch up. Haven’t seen him in a long time.

We did okay out of the Swapmeet. We grossed $700. That’s after fuel, site, food costs etc. Not too bad and it got rid of a lot of stuff!

Let the paint begin! We got the first two coats done before the Swapmeet.

Ready for coat two!

Third and final coat

The Vinyl floor went down a couple of days later! We are now ready for the kitchen! that will go in after Easter.

We had our neighbour Chris send us a message last minute to animal sit. He had sent me a message about a week before asking our movements. I didn’t hear back so I assumed he found someone else. Then I got a message we left this morning can you feed animals until Sunday. Too funny!

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