Spent this morning mooching and deciding where to stop tonight.we headed off and spent an uneventful night at Plesant Flat in Haast Pass,long drive today and we both crashed out early,the pass was looking particularly splendid coated in snow,totally beautiful,
wednesday we drove from Haast to Hokitika via Haast beach ,let elvis out for a run and buried a dead fur seal we found at the beach,Got into Hokitika quite late and decided to stay at NZMHA POP,little did we know a raging storm was following us.we made a fire in the shed at the pop and had a cosy night with elvis snuggled up infront of it.Unfortunately the wind was so fierce when we went to bed that we had to move the van at 1am we were being blown around like anything.
Next morning back on the road again after a quick coffee and fudge stop..........YUMMY
We decided to go to nelson via blackball which was a little out of our way but also incorporated Reefton,had a cool day tikitouring and stoppindg to look around blackball which is an unusual place to say the least and the community centre /Holuiday park/most haunted building in NZ was intreguing,LOL.the pub named the Hilton was preety funky too.We finally landed in Nelson about 6pm.It was awesome to see Val again
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
The last month.
Mon 20th Sept
Up early and left Elvis with friends at the POP ,fred and Magoo,and off we headed on our journry to Doubtful Sound................
First up caught a bus to Manapouri pickup outside the POP and thenb transferred to a Boat .we were squished on like sardines and spent an hour or so cruising lake Manapouri .It was raining lightly but quite nice and fairly warm.Off the boat at the other end of the lake to be met by 2Kea who were partying hard at the visiotos centre for the power station.Our journey continued by coach deep underground to Manapouri Power Station which was huge and very cool.again back on coach and headed out to the sound via Wilmot Pass.To my utter delight the pass was waist deep in snow and had bween cleared spo we could continue our journey.We got out and made snow angels and had a snowball fight and then out to the sound.By the time we got there it was lunchtime and weather was sunny and warm??????????????????????????$ seasons in one day.
Doubtful was just mind numbingly beautiful and tranquil.I have seen Milford Sound too but had to say Doubtful was my fave.we saw seals and dolphins and penguins again yeah.Shane spent a lot of time schmuuzing with people which was cute,lol.
We finally headed back and got back to the pop at about 5:30 and packed up and headed off back on our journey up to Nelson.We spent the night exhausted at Kingston parked in the pub carpark with another van.
Up early and left Elvis with friends at the POP ,fred and Magoo,and off we headed on our journry to Doubtful Sound................
First up caught a bus to Manapouri pickup outside the POP and thenb transferred to a Boat .we were squished on like sardines and spent an hour or so cruising lake Manapouri .It was raining lightly but quite nice and fairly warm.Off the boat at the other end of the lake to be met by 2Kea who were partying hard at the visiotos centre for the power station.Our journey continued by coach deep underground to Manapouri Power Station which was huge and very cool.again back on coach and headed out to the sound via Wilmot Pass.To my utter delight the pass was waist deep in snow and had bween cleared spo we could continue our journey.We got out and made snow angels and had a snowball fight and then out to the sound.By the time we got there it was lunchtime and weather was sunny and warm??????????????????????????$ seasons in one day.
Doubtful was just mind numbingly beautiful and tranquil.I have seen Milford Sound too but had to say Doubtful was my fave.we saw seals and dolphins and penguins again yeah.Shane spent a lot of time schmuuzing with people which was cute,lol.
We finally headed back and got back to the pop at about 5:30 and packed up and headed off back on our journey up to Nelson.We spent the night exhausted at Kingston parked in the pub carpark with another van.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Its snowing in fiordland
Well am i not doing really well...............only 3 weeks since my last post.
so what the hell have we been up too and why am i tucked up cosy and warm with Elvis and daddy in Te Anau,Weather is Baltic and its snowing fiercly and settling fast Whoopee.
30th -4th
So we decided to go look at a church to buy on the West Coast in a place called Granity up near Karamea.A wild rugged place we had visited about a month previously.So abandoning all sane and rational thought,we turned the van around and pointed back north,and started our ascent back up to the north of the island Via Arthurs Pass.
Gees shes beautiful up there.We stayed monday night in Springfield ,close to Darfield(Ringing any bells yet) and famous for the Giant doughnut donated by the cast of the simpsons-unfortunately some locals didnt like it and burnt it down although it is soon to be replaced by a concrete one-LOL.
We spent the night there in the domain campground.To say it rained would be an understatement!!!!!!!!.Spent the whole of the next day in and out of the van going through the pass.Just totally awesome ,mind blowingly beautiful scenary.we stopped in Ross made famous by Rita Angus painting and where the trans alpine train visits.They are building a tiny wee golfcourse and the pub and gas station are miniturised too.LOL.You nreed to see pictures to understand that,LOL
We got attacked by two mauraudingly Cheeky Kea at Death corner in the gully,they ripped the silicone off the van roof,it was super funny they are THE cutest and naughtiest birds.
We spent a couple of days in Greymouth sussing the place out and applying for jobs and looking at housing and mortgage possibilities and then headed over to Westport and granity on friday and looked at The Church.It was on Trade me for $80,000 and we totally fell in love with it but it needed so much doping to it and things like jobs and risk of buying at such a speed and with no LIM report etc ent our dreams were crushed really.............................
the Vicar of Dibley i will not be for a while.
Spent thre friday night plugged in at Basils and that was the night the Earthquake hit!We felt it hard out in the van .We had stayed at 3 of the worst hit places in Christchurch,Weedons,New Brighton and St Albans only weeks before so we were very lucky.I did tell Shane to stop rolling around and waking me up bless him.He got up and stepped outside and the floor was jolting violently.We were far luckier than the guys in Christchurch.
So on Saturday 4th we headed back to Greymouth as friends of mine were playing in there band The Managers ,at The CoalFace that night.Hoolian nearly fell over to see me and Shane stood there and wer had a great nite dancing singing and drinking with the locals,Slept that night in the carpark across the road,LOL.Had another couple pof nights in Greymouth which were wet and Soggy.Poor shane caught the Lurgy and so did i so we both ended up on antibiotics.a bloody funny old week!!
5th -12th Sept
Spent most of the Week in Westport scouting stuff out and i had an interview for staff nurse post at Buller hospital an 8 bed ward where you are jack of every trade known to man.we stayed down by the rivermouth for a few days with the local whitebaiters..they are a lovely bunch but preety territorial,LOL.Headed out th Cape foulwind and Carters Beach where we looked at another property and wanted to buy that but it was rotton and Shane loved tHe Man Cave more than the house.We met 3 guys from Christchurch at Basils and did a bit of a road trip out to the Beach with them and there dog Gilby ,they came to look at ther house with us too as one of them was a builder.He said the house needed demolishing,
We spent days beachcoming and a great night around the campfire with a couple from the Naki and there 2 little girls.they were doing the same as us and had a big 9metre bus they were living in.Awesome.we had drinks and pizza by the campfire in the wild wind.friday night was sad as my brother was getting married in UK and i was real sad to have missed that but hey.Anyway we were planning on cancelling the trip that we had booked to Doubtful sound but they wouldnt give us our money back so we decided to head off next week on the road back down to milford............
Tues 16th Sept
Headed out of westport and drove down to Franz joseph a long drive but broken up nicely by a visit to our Fave Fudge factory Sweet Alice in Hokitika..I drove for half the journey and Shane had a fuckin heart attack,LOL.....................Stopped the night in the POP at Franz Joseph which was really stunning and well situated only 5 mins stroll out of main street.
Wed 15th Sept
Woke early and weathewr was stunning so decided to go Glaqcier spotting.We drove down to the glacier carpark and ended up doing the 2hr walk to the front of the glacier.(in Slippers!Whoops) bad Kiwi!!!!!!!!!!!we had lunch at foox glacier and then headed off to drive the Haast Pass.What an awe inspiring drive.Through the snow capped southern alps and ejected out through The Gates of Haast,a truely majestic breathtaking bridge traversing the Haast river over immense rocks.we visited waterfalls and rivers and took every opportunity to leap out and take photos.We did the walk around lake Mathieson at Fox Glacier toobeach
we stopped to make a drift wood sculpture and sign a large Quartz rock at a wild exposed expanse of Beach called Sandy Bay..........Stunning,and i found an amazing piece of Glacial rock thats gonna be pride of place in my next home. that night we stoppewd at Boundary Creek DOC camp and after dinner at 7 ish i fell asleep and awoke next morning at 9am......................................I was a little wasted.It was arctic conditions overnight and the mountains all around were snowcapped by the next morning.
thurs 16th Sept
Headed down to wanaka via Lake Hawea and Kidds bush,the wind was howelling and it was raining hard by lunchtime so we holed up in a cool cafe on the front of thew lake drinking coffee.Took Elvis for a huge 2hr walk in the arvo around the lake and after cooking chicken chasseur by the lake we went to our fave place in wanaka ,cinema Paradiso.Its an old school cinema where they srtill have an interval and serve hot cookies and beer ,its a cafe too.We sat on a busted old sofa laxing out watching the Movie.Blissed outHad a lovely day and stayed the night in Arthurstown at thew municipal campground which was great.
Fri 17th Sept
Spent the day cruising down slowly through Cromwell and Arrowtown and into Queenstown,We stopped off in Arrowtown where i had nevewr been before,Its so Quaint and Cute ,but ypou need to bew rich..We had a n expensive hot chocolate in a cafe and i bounced joyously down the main street as it began to SNOW.JOY JOY JOY ,We headed into Queenstown and it was blizzardlike conditions which ment we felt justified in lounging about at Patagonia Chocolateria by the lake watching the snowflakes gliding down frosting the street and sipping Hot Chocolate to die for and eating icecream which was a must its the law when you go into a gelateria.I had Dark patagonian chocolate and Macadamia nuts..................................................................................................
It carried on snowing and we headed out of Queenstown to Kingston on the Road to Te-Anau.Kingston is famous for the Kingston Flyer a Steam train which is parked up at the local pub/station house.Cool.We met 2 gorgeous Irish Sisters and spent the night chatting to them and sharing treavel stories and keeping warm in the Parlour .Elvis was holed up with us and took quite a liking to both the girls.we sneekily ran an extension cord out f our van and loaned them our lekky blanket for the night.
sat 18th Sept.
So heres how we have ended up in Te Anau in the middle of a huge storm.One minute its sunny and the next its grey and snowing.we have decided to stay 2 nights at a POP stop Park over property on the outskirts of the Lake with a young family who spent 7 yrs living in there bus.Hes a builder and they have bought the land and hes bukilding there dream home on it whilst working during the week.A lovely guy.They spent 2yrs on the beach in Whitianga before coming back to Te-Anau.We arte plugged in the heater is going and its lambsfry and oniongravey n mash for tea....Yummy.
Hopefully it will snow so much we wont be able to get the door open tomorrow and we can have a duvet day LOL....lifes one big duvet day .............i need a job my brain is officially mush.
We are going off to manapouri and Doubtful Sound on Monday,for the day and the family here have offerred to have Prince Elvis,lol and then we will retrace our steps back uyp slowly over to Nelson to try our luck with Jobs and rental properties over there.Bugger i ment to ring the other day for an application form.......Life is suddenly so serious.......Work /Jobs whats that all about.
Love you guys ..............wait patiently and all will be revealed.
Sat 18th
so what the hell have we been up too and why am i tucked up cosy and warm with Elvis and daddy in Te Anau,Weather is Baltic and its snowing fiercly and settling fast Whoopee.
30th -4th
So we decided to go look at a church to buy on the West Coast in a place called Granity up near Karamea.A wild rugged place we had visited about a month previously.So abandoning all sane and rational thought,we turned the van around and pointed back north,and started our ascent back up to the north of the island Via Arthurs Pass.
Gees shes beautiful up there.We stayed monday night in Springfield ,close to Darfield(Ringing any bells yet) and famous for the Giant doughnut donated by the cast of the simpsons-unfortunately some locals didnt like it and burnt it down although it is soon to be replaced by a concrete one-LOL.
We spent the night there in the domain campground.To say it rained would be an understatement!!!!!!!!.Spent the whole of the next day in and out of the van going through the pass.Just totally awesome ,mind blowingly beautiful scenary.we stopped in Ross made famous by Rita Angus painting and where the trans alpine train visits.They are building a tiny wee golfcourse and the pub and gas station are miniturised too.LOL.You nreed to see pictures to understand that,LOL
We got attacked by two mauraudingly Cheeky Kea at Death corner in the gully,they ripped the silicone off the van roof,it was super funny they are THE cutest and naughtiest birds.
We spent a couple of days in Greymouth sussing the place out and applying for jobs and looking at housing and mortgage possibilities and then headed over to Westport and granity on friday and looked at The Church.It was on Trade me for $80,000 and we totally fell in love with it but it needed so much doping to it and things like jobs and risk of buying at such a speed and with no LIM report etc ent our dreams were crushed really.............................
the Vicar of Dibley i will not be for a while.
Spent thre friday night plugged in at Basils and that was the night the Earthquake hit!We felt it hard out in the van .We had stayed at 3 of the worst hit places in Christchurch,Weedons,New Brighton and St Albans only weeks before so we were very lucky.I did tell Shane to stop rolling around and waking me up bless him.He got up and stepped outside and the floor was jolting violently.We were far luckier than the guys in Christchurch.
So on Saturday 4th we headed back to Greymouth as friends of mine were playing in there band The Managers ,at The CoalFace that night.Hoolian nearly fell over to see me and Shane stood there and wer had a great nite dancing singing and drinking with the locals,Slept that night in the carpark across the road,LOL.Had another couple pof nights in Greymouth which were wet and Soggy.Poor shane caught the Lurgy and so did i so we both ended up on antibiotics.a bloody funny old week!!
5th -12th Sept
Spent most of the Week in Westport scouting stuff out and i had an interview for staff nurse post at Buller hospital an 8 bed ward where you are jack of every trade known to man.we stayed down by the rivermouth for a few days with the local whitebaiters..they are a lovely bunch but preety territorial,LOL.Headed out th Cape foulwind and Carters Beach where we looked at another property and wanted to buy that but it was rotton and Shane loved tHe Man Cave more than the house.We met 3 guys from Christchurch at Basils and did a bit of a road trip out to the Beach with them and there dog Gilby ,they came to look at ther house with us too as one of them was a builder.He said the house needed demolishing,
We spent days beachcoming and a great night around the campfire with a couple from the Naki and there 2 little girls.they were doing the same as us and had a big 9metre bus they were living in.Awesome.we had drinks and pizza by the campfire in the wild wind.friday night was sad as my brother was getting married in UK and i was real sad to have missed that but hey.Anyway we were planning on cancelling the trip that we had booked to Doubtful sound but they wouldnt give us our money back so we decided to head off next week on the road back down to milford............
Tues 16th Sept
Headed out of westport and drove down to Franz joseph a long drive but broken up nicely by a visit to our Fave Fudge factory Sweet Alice in Hokitika..I drove for half the journey and Shane had a fuckin heart attack,LOL.....................Stopped the night in the POP at Franz Joseph which was really stunning and well situated only 5 mins stroll out of main street.
Wed 15th Sept
Woke early and weathewr was stunning so decided to go Glaqcier spotting.We drove down to the glacier carpark and ended up doing the 2hr walk to the front of the glacier.(in Slippers!Whoops) bad Kiwi!!!!!!!!!!!we had lunch at foox glacier and then headed off to drive the Haast Pass.What an awe inspiring drive.Through the snow capped southern alps and ejected out through The Gates of Haast,a truely majestic breathtaking bridge traversing the Haast river over immense rocks.we visited waterfalls and rivers and took every opportunity to leap out and take photos.We did the walk around lake Mathieson at Fox Glacier toobeach
we stopped to make a drift wood sculpture and sign a large Quartz rock at a wild exposed expanse of Beach called Sandy Bay..........Stunning,and i found an amazing piece of Glacial rock thats gonna be pride of place in my next home. that night we stoppewd at Boundary Creek DOC camp and after dinner at 7 ish i fell asleep and awoke next morning at 9am......................................I was a little wasted.It was arctic conditions overnight and the mountains all around were snowcapped by the next morning.
thurs 16th Sept
Headed down to wanaka via Lake Hawea and Kidds bush,the wind was howelling and it was raining hard by lunchtime so we holed up in a cool cafe on the front of thew lake drinking coffee.Took Elvis for a huge 2hr walk in the arvo around the lake and after cooking chicken chasseur by the lake we went to our fave place in wanaka ,cinema Paradiso.Its an old school cinema where they srtill have an interval and serve hot cookies and beer ,its a cafe too.We sat on a busted old sofa laxing out watching the Movie.Blissed outHad a lovely day and stayed the night in Arthurstown at thew municipal campground which was great.
Fri 17th Sept
Spent the day cruising down slowly through Cromwell and Arrowtown and into Queenstown,We stopped off in Arrowtown where i had nevewr been before,Its so Quaint and Cute ,but ypou need to bew rich..We had a n expensive hot chocolate in a cafe and i bounced joyously down the main street as it began to SNOW.JOY JOY JOY ,We headed into Queenstown and it was blizzardlike conditions which ment we felt justified in lounging about at Patagonia Chocolateria by the lake watching the snowflakes gliding down frosting the street and sipping Hot Chocolate to die for and eating icecream which was a must its the law when you go into a gelateria.I had Dark patagonian chocolate and Macadamia nuts..................................................................................................
It carried on snowing and we headed out of Queenstown to Kingston on the Road to Te-Anau.Kingston is famous for the Kingston Flyer a Steam train which is parked up at the local pub/station house.Cool.We met 2 gorgeous Irish Sisters and spent the night chatting to them and sharing treavel stories and keeping warm in the Parlour .Elvis was holed up with us and took quite a liking to both the girls.we sneekily ran an extension cord out f our van and loaned them our lekky blanket for the night.
sat 18th Sept.
So heres how we have ended up in Te Anau in the middle of a huge storm.One minute its sunny and the next its grey and snowing.we have decided to stay 2 nights at a POP stop Park over property on the outskirts of the Lake with a young family who spent 7 yrs living in there bus.Hes a builder and they have bought the land and hes bukilding there dream home on it whilst working during the week.A lovely guy.They spent 2yrs on the beach in Whitianga before coming back to Te-Anau.We arte plugged in the heater is going and its lambsfry and oniongravey n mash for tea....Yummy.
Hopefully it will snow so much we wont be able to get the door open tomorrow and we can have a duvet day LOL....lifes one big duvet day .............i need a job my brain is officially mush.
We are going off to manapouri and Doubtful Sound on Monday,for the day and the family here have offerred to have Prince Elvis,lol and then we will retrace our steps back uyp slowly over to Nelson to try our luck with Jobs and rental properties over there.Bugger i ment to ring the other day for an application form.......Life is suddenly so serious.......Work /Jobs whats that all about.
Love you guys ..............wait patiently and all will be revealed.
Sat 18th
Friday, August 27, 2010
This last week @#$%^
Apologies again people,as ever my promises to be better at the blog have failed miserably..................Firstly i just want to acknowledge the death of a very dear friend of mine and Shanes,only sadly for a short time but he was a huge influence and incouragement to us in going on this trip...............
Simon my darling friend ,we have loved,laughed cried and giggled.I will miss you so much and remember you always.Aroha darling ,you will be missed hugely by your family and friends.Go well and look over us with a smile.RIP
Friday 20th -Sat 21st
so after a long noisy night in the carpark we headed over to Brighton beach and stayed the day and night on a grassy knoll by the side of the road which was quiet and lovely and peaceful and again Elvis could hop out of the van onto his own beachfront playpark........... the next morning we woke early at 10.30 LOL and sat chatting to a local guy with his dogs for a while who suggested that we head over to Taieri Mouth Beach camp which turned out to be another total GEM of a place run by Diane a 78 yr old Dunedianite whpo had owned the camp for 10 or so yrs ,its tiny and very quiet and the washing machine is so fucked you have to fill it by hand.Ha Ha so funny,but it was great fun and we loved the quiet beach where i found heaps of Paua shells which is unusual,cool:)
So after a mammoth wash and dry and 3 showers in 24hrs ha ah.......................
Sunday 22nd August
we headed off back to dunedin on sunday and hung out at the museum and got shane some new sunnies for $20 a bargain had been $95.Cool we headed of really later over to the otago penninsula ,via pak and save and the warehouse to get a new fire lighter as i was ready to impale ours up someones arse.(I think i may have failed to mention that on friday morning while parked at some giant teeth on the waterfront in dunedin-WTF................we were sprayed by boulders from some hoon at 9am and he broke our windscreen and so we had to wait till tuesday to get it fixed)
So we parked up out the back of Scott Hall in near portobello ready to head off Albatross spotting......
Monday 23rd August
So monday morning we were up early walked Elvis and headed off to see some Albatross-45 Dollars they wanted each,so we had a coffe and sat in the carpark like all the other locals until one flew overhead in the carpark,Cheeky buggers.we then headed down to the scenic reserve next to piolet bay and had an altercation with a furseal,bless they are so lazy and cute.we tiki-toured aroud and didnt manage to find anywhere for Elvis to go for a run so he was fed up bless him.later that evening we headed back and sat on the beach for an hour waiting for blue penguins but failed miserably bit cest la vie.Early to bead as we had to get the windscreen done tomorrow and 4hrs walking round Dunners with Elvis arrrrrgggggggh.
Tuesday 24thAugust
So up early to have windscreen done got there to be told they wouldnt start it till 1pm so we went off for a couple of hrs to the Otago Settlers Museum.Its so cool this place far better than the other museum but is currently under refurbishment and development.They had two cool exhibitions a 70's Rumpus room and you could ferret around looking at things that made me feel very old ,and an amazing exhibition of paintings and artwork about Dunedin War Brides whuich was heartwarming sad and beautifully clever and stunning.The weathert had also been totally stunning for last 2 day
We then went back to Smith and smith via the dogs breakfast where we spent an extortionate amount on 2 cushion for me and shane as our bums were numb.Any ways it turned out that due to rust when they took windscreen out the couldnt put new one back in as needed repair work ,as youy can imagine we were beside ourself loomiong around Dunners with dog in tow and nowhere to go!@#$%^&*( oh Shit ) anyway the manager Ian was amazing did the repair work for free and let us stay around the back of the store in the van overnight Yippee-we love dunedin people they are cool.
That evening we went to The Best Cafe on lower Stuart street which is the most authentic chippie greasy spoon caff i have been too in NZ made me homesick for Scunny so it did .Lovely food and bread and butter and vineger ont tableLOL.YUMMY
we then went to the rialto cinema and had a loom around dunners in the dark,it is a completely beautiful and majestic city i havew to say i love it We went to see Michael Caine in Harry Brown.That man is a Super Star and the movie is AMAZING go and see it immediately,particularly if you enjoyed Gran Torino.
So back to the van at 11.30 TO FIND THET eLVIS HAD DESTROYED BOTH OF OUR BRAND NEW CUSHIONS BEYOND NORMAL REPAIR @#$%^&*.
Wednesday 25th August
apreety quiet day spent out and about in the freezing cold Dunners morning ,and then with our swanky new windscreen we headed off to the Art Gallery and then out of dZunedin headed back North through Palmerston and up to Shag Point where we stayed the night by State Highway one in a lovely spot by the beach.Managed to find a book shop that exchanged some books for us as our trip count stands at about 24 books to date -awesome .no tv we love it.ZShane found a classic mini manual as well,little bugger.
Thursday 26th August
Started off the day in a relaxed manner with a lay in and a trip into Mouraki to go to Fleurs Place .An award winning Restaurant full of ecclectic bric-a -brac and fossicced relics from the surrounding area.The meal lived up to all expectations .It was a treat for Shanes birthday and somthing we had planned to do all along on our trip so i really enjoyed relaxing and chatting with Fleur who is expecting a visit from her friend Rick Stein in the next few weeks when he comes back to nZ.I has groper stuffed with oysters in a cheese sauce with potatoes and vegies and Shane had Lamb Shanks with mash and a gravey to behold.We then headed off to do a little tiki tour of thee surrounding area.Headed off to look at the whalers monument and Marae in Mouraki and to a tiny village called Kaik which is literally end of the road.
We then headed back down south and just a 2-3 min drive out of mouraki decided to go to trotters gorge for a look.
A fateful descision as it turned out.............
Trotters gorge was picturesque little reserve surrounded by huge cliffs ans dense bush,the sun was shining and heeding the notes aboutr flooding in wet weather we stopped for a cuppa and a chat with an elderly guy that turned up .All was well and shane headed off to the Long Drop while i returned back to the van with Elvis .and so the nightmare began........
Elvis was following me back roaming around and just as i approached the van we both heard 3-4 huge barks and welping ..............we were both shouting and calling the puppy but no sign of him .After 2hrs it was getting dark and shane went to try and get help.Elvis has never been Bush-ever before and as it got pitch black still not a sound,By this time you can imagine we both really thought he was dead,caught by a wild pig or a trap or somthing.No cellphone reception and wild rocky treeain made it impossible to search.....................we were beside ourselves.Shane was amazing and i was a total wreck as you can all imagine.
With no tea and in sub zero temps we went to bed at ten thirty to start search at daylight.We had heard him wimpering at abot 9.30 bush bashing and climbing steep rocks to no availby this time i was verging on griefstricken asd was Shaneat 1.05 we were awoken to loud barking and crying up on the ridge but no ammount of called would bring our baby back.
shane had to jumpstart the van and headed to the only farm at the start of the gorge and woke the guy there asking desperately for help.We had rung DOC earlier but they cant do anything if its an animal.
Steve returned with shane as i had stayed to make sure Elvis knew we hadnt left him.It was the most terrible 10mins of my life i have to say.Pitch black ,Freezing cold and damp and Elvis wailing and crying .
Steve knew the area well and at 4oclock ion the pitch black with our torches failing Steve went upo a second toime and managed to find Elvis .He brought him down off a rockface where he had got lost and stuck ,but then he stopped following Steve and shot off terrified and cold in the dark.with nothing left to do till daylight at 4.15am we went back to bed.to start searchind at daybreak.Just as we turned off the lights we heard the familiar rattle of a collar and a whimper very close by and as Shane opened the door our little boy leapt into the van.HE WAS HOME.And not a scratch on him.We were both sobbing with delight.............OMG what a total and utter Nightmare.With the puppy safely tucked up in bed between us we finally slept at 5am.
Friday 27th August
another glorious day we woke at 7am as Steve came back to continue the search.He was completely amazing and we cant repay his kindness,Bless him.We headed over to Herbert just north of Mouraki to the most stunning forest camp and that is where i am writing the blog now.The van was a total mud filled disaster and me and shane desperately needed showert ans sleep.The camp is beautiful and after 6 loads of washing and a huge clearout and spring clean we finally settled.Elvis roamed around being his own disobedient serlf.Our plan for the day had originally been to go to the races at Oamaru but we weere exhausted so we plugged in to recharge our gear and re-group and watched a DVD and cooked a meal and turned the kitchen into a chinese laundry,I am sitting here in the van watching both my boys cuddled up together under the duvet like loves young dream and life is sweet again.We had a beer to remember our friend Simon who was buried today and then we slept.
Saturday 28th August.
Its raining !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Yuck and with a serious amount of still very wet clothes and towels we are gonna finally go and explore Oamaru .We sailed through there the other day and didnt get to see it.Our plans for the next week are to go have a look around central otago following the rail trail,not on bikes its too wet and cold and Elvis is hopeless on a push bike LOL.Its 9;15 and i need a coffee and brekkie.The people here have been lovely and there dpog and elvis are now friends.and they have two really cute pigs that we fed lastnight.CUTE.Ok enough of our ramblings.Catch you later
Simon my darling friend ,we have loved,laughed cried and giggled.I will miss you so much and remember you always.Aroha darling ,you will be missed hugely by your family and friends.Go well and look over us with a smile.RIP
Friday 20th -Sat 21st
so after a long noisy night in the carpark we headed over to Brighton beach and stayed the day and night on a grassy knoll by the side of the road which was quiet and lovely and peaceful and again Elvis could hop out of the van onto his own beachfront playpark........... the next morning we woke early at 10.30 LOL and sat chatting to a local guy with his dogs for a while who suggested that we head over to Taieri Mouth Beach camp which turned out to be another total GEM of a place run by Diane a 78 yr old Dunedianite whpo had owned the camp for 10 or so yrs ,its tiny and very quiet and the washing machine is so fucked you have to fill it by hand.Ha Ha so funny,but it was great fun and we loved the quiet beach where i found heaps of Paua shells which is unusual,cool:)
So after a mammoth wash and dry and 3 showers in 24hrs ha ah.......................
Sunday 22nd August
we headed off back to dunedin on sunday and hung out at the museum and got shane some new sunnies for $20 a bargain had been $95.Cool we headed of really later over to the otago penninsula ,via pak and save and the warehouse to get a new fire lighter as i was ready to impale ours up someones arse.(I think i may have failed to mention that on friday morning while parked at some giant teeth on the waterfront in dunedin-WTF................we were sprayed by boulders from some hoon at 9am and he broke our windscreen and so we had to wait till tuesday to get it fixed)
So we parked up out the back of Scott Hall in near portobello ready to head off Albatross spotting......
Monday 23rd August
So monday morning we were up early walked Elvis and headed off to see some Albatross-45 Dollars they wanted each,so we had a coffe and sat in the carpark like all the other locals until one flew overhead in the carpark,Cheeky buggers.we then headed down to the scenic reserve next to piolet bay and had an altercation with a furseal,bless they are so lazy and cute.we tiki-toured aroud and didnt manage to find anywhere for Elvis to go for a run so he was fed up bless him.later that evening we headed back and sat on the beach for an hour waiting for blue penguins but failed miserably bit cest la vie.Early to bead as we had to get the windscreen done tomorrow and 4hrs walking round Dunners with Elvis arrrrrgggggggh.
Tuesday 24thAugust
So up early to have windscreen done got there to be told they wouldnt start it till 1pm so we went off for a couple of hrs to the Otago Settlers Museum.Its so cool this place far better than the other museum but is currently under refurbishment and development.They had two cool exhibitions a 70's Rumpus room and you could ferret around looking at things that made me feel very old ,and an amazing exhibition of paintings and artwork about Dunedin War Brides whuich was heartwarming sad and beautifully clever and stunning.The weathert had also been totally stunning for last 2 day
We then went back to Smith and smith via the dogs breakfast where we spent an extortionate amount on 2 cushion for me and shane as our bums were numb.Any ways it turned out that due to rust when they took windscreen out the couldnt put new one back in as needed repair work ,as youy can imagine we were beside ourself loomiong around Dunners with dog in tow and nowhere to go!@#$%^&*( oh Shit ) anyway the manager Ian was amazing did the repair work for free and let us stay around the back of the store in the van overnight Yippee-we love dunedin people they are cool.
That evening we went to The Best Cafe on lower Stuart street which is the most authentic chippie greasy spoon caff i have been too in NZ made me homesick for Scunny so it did .Lovely food and bread and butter and vineger ont tableLOL.YUMMY
we then went to the rialto cinema and had a loom around dunners in the dark,it is a completely beautiful and majestic city i havew to say i love it We went to see Michael Caine in Harry Brown.That man is a Super Star and the movie is AMAZING go and see it immediately,particularly if you enjoyed Gran Torino.
So back to the van at 11.30 TO FIND THET eLVIS HAD DESTROYED BOTH OF OUR BRAND NEW CUSHIONS BEYOND NORMAL REPAIR @#$%^&*.
Wednesday 25th August
apreety quiet day spent out and about in the freezing cold Dunners morning ,and then with our swanky new windscreen we headed off to the Art Gallery and then out of dZunedin headed back North through Palmerston and up to Shag Point where we stayed the night by State Highway one in a lovely spot by the beach.Managed to find a book shop that exchanged some books for us as our trip count stands at about 24 books to date -awesome .no tv we love it.ZShane found a classic mini manual as well,little bugger.
Thursday 26th August
Started off the day in a relaxed manner with a lay in and a trip into Mouraki to go to Fleurs Place .An award winning Restaurant full of ecclectic bric-a -brac and fossicced relics from the surrounding area.The meal lived up to all expectations .It was a treat for Shanes birthday and somthing we had planned to do all along on our trip so i really enjoyed relaxing and chatting with Fleur who is expecting a visit from her friend Rick Stein in the next few weeks when he comes back to nZ.I has groper stuffed with oysters in a cheese sauce with potatoes and vegies and Shane had Lamb Shanks with mash and a gravey to behold.We then headed off to do a little tiki tour of thee surrounding area.Headed off to look at the whalers monument and Marae in Mouraki and to a tiny village called Kaik which is literally end of the road.
We then headed back down south and just a 2-3 min drive out of mouraki decided to go to trotters gorge for a look.
A fateful descision as it turned out.............
Trotters gorge was picturesque little reserve surrounded by huge cliffs ans dense bush,the sun was shining and heeding the notes aboutr flooding in wet weather we stopped for a cuppa and a chat with an elderly guy that turned up .All was well and shane headed off to the Long Drop while i returned back to the van with Elvis .and so the nightmare began........
Elvis was following me back roaming around and just as i approached the van we both heard 3-4 huge barks and welping ..............we were both shouting and calling the puppy but no sign of him .After 2hrs it was getting dark and shane went to try and get help.Elvis has never been Bush-ever before and as it got pitch black still not a sound,By this time you can imagine we both really thought he was dead,caught by a wild pig or a trap or somthing.No cellphone reception and wild rocky treeain made it impossible to search.....................we were beside ourselves.Shane was amazing and i was a total wreck as you can all imagine.
With no tea and in sub zero temps we went to bed at ten thirty to start search at daylight.We had heard him wimpering at abot 9.30 bush bashing and climbing steep rocks to no availby this time i was verging on griefstricken asd was Shaneat 1.05 we were awoken to loud barking and crying up on the ridge but no ammount of called would bring our baby back.
shane had to jumpstart the van and headed to the only farm at the start of the gorge and woke the guy there asking desperately for help.We had rung DOC earlier but they cant do anything if its an animal.
Steve returned with shane as i had stayed to make sure Elvis knew we hadnt left him.It was the most terrible 10mins of my life i have to say.Pitch black ,Freezing cold and damp and Elvis wailing and crying .
Steve knew the area well and at 4oclock ion the pitch black with our torches failing Steve went upo a second toime and managed to find Elvis .He brought him down off a rockface where he had got lost and stuck ,but then he stopped following Steve and shot off terrified and cold in the dark.with nothing left to do till daylight at 4.15am we went back to bed.to start searchind at daybreak.Just as we turned off the lights we heard the familiar rattle of a collar and a whimper very close by and as Shane opened the door our little boy leapt into the van.HE WAS HOME.And not a scratch on him.We were both sobbing with delight.............OMG what a total and utter Nightmare.With the puppy safely tucked up in bed between us we finally slept at 5am.
Friday 27th August
another glorious day we woke at 7am as Steve came back to continue the search.He was completely amazing and we cant repay his kindness,Bless him.We headed over to Herbert just north of Mouraki to the most stunning forest camp and that is where i am writing the blog now.The van was a total mud filled disaster and me and shane desperately needed showert ans sleep.The camp is beautiful and after 6 loads of washing and a huge clearout and spring clean we finally settled.Elvis roamed around being his own disobedient serlf.Our plan for the day had originally been to go to the races at Oamaru but we weere exhausted so we plugged in to recharge our gear and re-group and watched a DVD and cooked a meal and turned the kitchen into a chinese laundry,I am sitting here in the van watching both my boys cuddled up together under the duvet like loves young dream and life is sweet again.We had a beer to remember our friend Simon who was buried today and then we slept.
Saturday 28th August.
Its raining !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Yuck and with a serious amount of still very wet clothes and towels we are gonna finally go and explore Oamaru .We sailed through there the other day and didnt get to see it.Our plans for the next week are to go have a look around central otago following the rail trail,not on bikes its too wet and cold and Elvis is hopeless on a push bike LOL.Its 9;15 and i need a coffee and brekkie.The people here have been lovely and there dpog and elvis are now friends.and they have two really cute pigs that we fed lastnight.CUTE.Ok enough of our ramblings.Catch you later
Sunday, August 22, 2010
OMG sorry we have been awful in our blogging !!!!!!!!!!!!!Well 2 weeks what have wew done.
Spent 3 days on Banks Penninsular which i have to say was a highlight for us.We went to Akoroa and did a half price tour of the harbour-Choice.Saw Hector Dolphins ans a really rare Hoi Hoi penguin and seals ans penguins,was so cool.
We also visited Okains Bay and the maori and collonial museum there run by thwe most gorgeous girl called Stacy.Its a tiny little settlement wit pop of about 100 people BEAUTIFUL.Has one of the best Tiki collections i have seen.We spent all 3 nights freedom camping and stayed one night on Summit road-really lovely
we hung out in Lyttleton for a day and went to timeball station and then on to Brighton again for a night to plug in and recuperate.The van battery died when we stayed out in the wop wop and we had an extremely scarey hour trying to work out what to do .Shane was a star as usual.
Headed out of Christchurch finally on Friday 13th and headed to Methven to see the snow and Mt Hutt.Stayed on a a POP stop with some lovely people called Ivan and Dulcie who were number 75 at NZMCA in the 1st year 1956.absolutely lovely people.The POP was there old truck yards out back and a dodgy old plug socket-very illegal but bloody funny.we relaxed in the rain all weekend and woke up on monday morning 16th HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHANE 31 today.
we headed into Methven and had brekkie as a treat at Primo and secundo which is a funky cafe in centre of town and has all retro things everywhre ,you can buy anything including the plates u eat off and the furniture,very cool and funky.We stoppewd off in Ashburton to go to Bullrush chocolates where Shane Chose "Dark Ginga" and won a makeover with his Golden Ticket in a willie wonka style fashion.The ladies in Ashburton Amcal were scared when faced with shane demandind his free prize.They managed to hussle him out of the door with a few prizes,LOL.
We headed out to Lake Tekapo which as ever was stunning we went offroad and stayed at Lake Alexandria in a tiny fishing camp and woke up in the morning with amazing alpine views .We dashed over to the hot pools and then in the afternoon headed over to Timeru .On the way over we stopped at geraldine and farlie ,both are cute little places with the most amazing car and industrial equiptment museums.Shane was of course in his element,that must be the 67th he has visited since we started.Thankyou to Annie who came all the way from home to open up the cart museum and started up one of the engines for a delighted Shane.Lovely place,we tried to catch up with Mary Roberts but due to Technical glitches and the need to move on we didnt manage too ,bit upset about that and hopefully we may get back up there before the trip is over.
Loved caroline Bay and the docks area of Timeru.its a cool little place good museum and Art Gallery.Met some lovely people from invercargill at the car park by the Docks who gave us there address and want us to drop by when we are in town.Wednesday it was over to Waimate to a POP stop over there,Waimate is actually really quite a big place famous for its wallabies and a white horse .Wasnt even mentioned in my Rough Guide or Lonely Planets.Found a gem of a cafe there run by 3 Malaysian brothers called ArtRio,one is a photograper and coffee roaster ,one a chef and biologist and the 3rd is Maitre' d.The coffee was amazing and the place was so friendly and i even got a beautiful Beagle puppy artfully on my coffee,amazing.We scooted around town and took photos and visited the Free Wallabies in the public gardens that noone tells you abou,then we headed off abruptly on thursday pm after a phonecall from Shanes friend Mike who was in Dunedin for the night,we met up with hoim and spent the evening in a scungy student bar The Cook to get an authentic feel for nightlife in thew city.we all had a bit to drink!@#%^ and ended up staying in the van in a carPark in centralDunedin being woken every 5 mins by cars and road sweepewrs.
Next day after a failed attempt at the Museum we headed out to Brighton beach for a night and lasdt night 21st we have stayed at Taieri Gorge Campsite.$17 dollars plug-in for the night the sdun is shining this morning ,sky is clear and blue and i am now uptodate on the blog and a weight has been lifted from me...How sad the things you worry about when you haver no jpob ,LOL.
Elvis is Chomping at the bit to get out on the Beach and we are headed back into Dunners .we have to stay until Tuesday as some total Wankbreath sprayed us with pebbles on friday am and brokre the windscreen,thankgod we are not in Catlins . for a week or 2 and we will head to Catlins and Otago Penninsula.
Love to you all `
Spent 3 days on Banks Penninsular which i have to say was a highlight for us.We went to Akoroa and did a half price tour of the harbour-Choice.Saw Hector Dolphins ans a really rare Hoi Hoi penguin and seals ans penguins,was so cool.
We also visited Okains Bay and the maori and collonial museum there run by thwe most gorgeous girl called Stacy.Its a tiny little settlement wit pop of about 100 people BEAUTIFUL.Has one of the best Tiki collections i have seen.We spent all 3 nights freedom camping and stayed one night on Summit road-really lovely
we hung out in Lyttleton for a day and went to timeball station and then on to Brighton again for a night to plug in and recuperate.The van battery died when we stayed out in the wop wop and we had an extremely scarey hour trying to work out what to do .Shane was a star as usual.
Headed out of Christchurch finally on Friday 13th and headed to Methven to see the snow and Mt Hutt.Stayed on a a POP stop with some lovely people called Ivan and Dulcie who were number 75 at NZMCA in the 1st year 1956.absolutely lovely people.The POP was there old truck yards out back and a dodgy old plug socket-very illegal but bloody funny.we relaxed in the rain all weekend and woke up on monday morning 16th HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHANE 31 today.
we headed into Methven and had brekkie as a treat at Primo and secundo which is a funky cafe in centre of town and has all retro things everywhre ,you can buy anything including the plates u eat off and the furniture,very cool and funky.We stoppewd off in Ashburton to go to Bullrush chocolates where Shane Chose "Dark Ginga" and won a makeover with his Golden Ticket in a willie wonka style fashion.The ladies in Ashburton Amcal were scared when faced with shane demandind his free prize.They managed to hussle him out of the door with a few prizes,LOL.
We headed out to Lake Tekapo which as ever was stunning we went offroad and stayed at Lake Alexandria in a tiny fishing camp and woke up in the morning with amazing alpine views .We dashed over to the hot pools and then in the afternoon headed over to Timeru .On the way over we stopped at geraldine and farlie ,both are cute little places with the most amazing car and industrial equiptment museums.Shane was of course in his element,that must be the 67th he has visited since we started.Thankyou to Annie who came all the way from home to open up the cart museum and started up one of the engines for a delighted Shane.Lovely place,we tried to catch up with Mary Roberts but due to Technical glitches and the need to move on we didnt manage too ,bit upset about that and hopefully we may get back up there before the trip is over.
Loved caroline Bay and the docks area of Timeru.its a cool little place good museum and Art Gallery.Met some lovely people from invercargill at the car park by the Docks who gave us there address and want us to drop by when we are in town.Wednesday it was over to Waimate to a POP stop over there,Waimate is actually really quite a big place famous for its wallabies and a white horse .Wasnt even mentioned in my Rough Guide or Lonely Planets.Found a gem of a cafe there run by 3 Malaysian brothers called ArtRio,one is a photograper and coffee roaster ,one a chef and biologist and the 3rd is Maitre' d.The coffee was amazing and the place was so friendly and i even got a beautiful Beagle puppy artfully on my coffee,amazing.We scooted around town and took photos and visited the Free Wallabies in the public gardens that noone tells you abou,then we headed off abruptly on thursday pm after a phonecall from Shanes friend Mike who was in Dunedin for the night,we met up with hoim and spent the evening in a scungy student bar The Cook to get an authentic feel for nightlife in thew city.we all had a bit to drink!@#%^ and ended up staying in the van in a carPark in centralDunedin being woken every 5 mins by cars and road sweepewrs.
Next day after a failed attempt at the Museum we headed out to Brighton beach for a night and lasdt night 21st we have stayed at Taieri Gorge Campsite.$17 dollars plug-in for the night the sdun is shining this morning ,sky is clear and blue and i am now uptodate on the blog and a weight has been lifted from me...How sad the things you worry about when you haver no jpob ,LOL.
Elvis is Chomping at the bit to get out on the Beach and we are headed back into Dunners .we have to stay until Tuesday as some total Wankbreath sprayed us with pebbles on friday am and brokre the windscreen,thankgod we are not in Catlins . for a week or 2 and we will head to Catlins and Otago Penninsula.
Love to you all `
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Well hello there you lot......................Sorry for the delay in posts but we have been preety busy of late.
Left nelson just over a week ago and spent our 1st night in Murchison at the POP stop there(Park over Property)Spent the night there and then headed over to hamner Springs the next day through Lewis pass.snow covered Peaks everywhere,we stopped off at the start of St James walkway and let Elvis out for a runaround and a toilet stop.LONG DROP HELL .Think this is the toilet that people use after 5 days on the track-PHEW not nice,LOL.Headed over to hamner and spent a couple of nights at the POP stop just out of the township.Lovely spacious place and again free,you hjust have to time your toilet breaks carefully :)
Spent a couple of days relaxing and hanging out at the hotpoolswhich it turns out are not so hot in a force 10 gale.I was like a bloody prune by the time i plucked up courage to get out in the wind and rain.
Headed over to Christchurch on monday 2nd and stopped off to surprise Jane Newman and her hubby Craig who recently moved there.She was a tad shocked to say the least,It was truely lovely to catch up with her and Craig who we had not met before .There daughter Laura is both beautiful and intelligent and captivated us wuith her charm and wit,and Finn is still very little and super cute.Craig had been hunting the weekend before so we were treated to his venison and wild pork sausages for tea,YUM.Thankyou so much for your hospitality and Driveway,WE LOVE YOU.
Tuesday 3rd August
Another allustreious day in the life of a devoted Pixies fan,we headed into christchurch to find our bearings for the long awaited return of the Pixies to NZ.The gang as ever were completely amazing.Only 4000 tickets sold so the gig was much more intimate than Auckland.They thrilled us with all the doolittle classdics and the audience werte more than enthusiastic and friendly.We had an absolute ball .Kim Deal was so cute,she kept thanking us all for coming 80 hrs to see them,god love her most people had jumped on the number 60 bus to get there,lol.Elvis delighted the throngs outside .i think he thought they had all gathered to pat and fuss over him and he duly was entertaining and supercute and well behaved.Well worth the 80$ each metallica can sod off i am afraid unless we win tickets.Drove around for a while and found a great spot in St Albans at the park right next to some toilets-Day 5 freedom camping--Tight arsed Bastards eh??????????
Wed 4Th August.
Spent a great day looming around Christchurch city centre ,i sp[ent 2hrs at thew art Gallery which is not only beautiful but has so awesome collections.There was a particular exhibition of ophotographs by a woman called Tanis Simons an american woman whos photos were really thought provoking ,provocartive and some humerous and educational.headed to the canterbury Museum and accidentally locked the Keys in thew van,Whoops,loland when Shane managed to break in (Easily)
Left nelson just over a week ago and spent our 1st night in Murchison at the POP stop there(Park over Property)Spent the night there and then headed over to hamner Springs the next day through Lewis pass.snow covered Peaks everywhere,we stopped off at the start of St James walkway and let Elvis out for a runaround and a toilet stop.LONG DROP HELL .Think this is the toilet that people use after 5 days on the track-PHEW not nice,LOL.Headed over to hamner and spent a couple of nights at the POP stop just out of the township.Lovely spacious place and again free,you hjust have to time your toilet breaks carefully :)
Spent a couple of days relaxing and hanging out at the hotpoolswhich it turns out are not so hot in a force 10 gale.I was like a bloody prune by the time i plucked up courage to get out in the wind and rain.
Headed over to Christchurch on monday 2nd and stopped off to surprise Jane Newman and her hubby Craig who recently moved there.She was a tad shocked to say the least,It was truely lovely to catch up with her and Craig who we had not met before .There daughter Laura is both beautiful and intelligent and captivated us wuith her charm and wit,and Finn is still very little and super cute.Craig had been hunting the weekend before so we were treated to his venison and wild pork sausages for tea,YUM.Thankyou so much for your hospitality and Driveway,WE LOVE YOU.
Tuesday 3rd August
Another allustreious day in the life of a devoted Pixies fan,we headed into christchurch to find our bearings for the long awaited return of the Pixies to NZ.The gang as ever were completely amazing.Only 4000 tickets sold so the gig was much more intimate than Auckland.They thrilled us with all the doolittle classdics and the audience werte more than enthusiastic and friendly.We had an absolute ball .Kim Deal was so cute,she kept thanking us all for coming 80 hrs to see them,god love her most people had jumped on the number 60 bus to get there,lol.Elvis delighted the throngs outside .i think he thought they had all gathered to pat and fuss over him and he duly was entertaining and supercute and well behaved.Well worth the 80$ each metallica can sod off i am afraid unless we win tickets.Drove around for a while and found a great spot in St Albans at the park right next to some toilets-Day 5 freedom camping--Tight arsed Bastards eh??????????
Wed 4Th August.
Spent a great day looming around Christchurch city centre ,i sp[ent 2hrs at thew art Gallery which is not only beautiful but has so awesome collections.There was a particular exhibition of ophotographs by a woman called Tanis Simons an american woman whos photos were really thought provoking ,provocartive and some humerous and educational.headed to the canterbury Museum and accidentally locked the Keys in thew van,Whoops,loland when Shane managed to break in (Easily)
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