Snow and Spring

Spring is racing along. It started with a bang and the temps felt more like summer. Then it rained and there was lots of snow on the mountains so the air temps dropped again. Spring is always quite windy, but this year seems windy more often.

Spring colours and the new bark on the slope

view from my office desk. new gravel bed. snow on the mountains

Bonnie checking out her new walkway

 

The garden is springing to life and so is business. We have had a busy off season putting together new tours and a new website. We also have a new business partner, Jo. She did some of the tours last year and now she is more involved. www.wheeliefantastic.co.nz will let you see what we have been doing.

Lisa is almost back to full health, after whooping cough she got in July. She still get some coughing fits, but very minor compared to what it was like before. She can now cycle quite fast with no ill effects.

I finish school on the 5^th Dec, which is the end of term and the school year. At this time it looks like I won’t have any classes to teach next year.

We are going to both take a week off work in December, before we go into ‘summer lock down’. We have booked a couple of nights away on the west coast, at a place called Westhaven Retreat. It is only a couple of hours drive from here, but it looks very different.

Today, it rained this morning, so no bike work. We took the chance to go surfing. It was fab. The water isn’t cold (we did wear shorties). We had the beach and surf to ourselves.

Winter 2014

I said in the last blog that I would write soon. Well I didn't so here is a summary of winter so far!

Winter has flown by (as always). The days are getting longer and the day temperatures sometimes tease us by giving us a glimpse of spring. Lambs are becoming more plentiful in the fields. So how have we spent our quiet season? As you could guess we have been busy!

On the home front we put in double glazing in the house. It has made the house much warmer. I don’t know if it has been frosty overnight until I look out the window. We also put in a new kitchen, which has made a huge difference to our living space. We are really enjoying using it, but we haven’t entertained too many people as Lisa has been sick for a few weeks. It was a long process, many,many decisions to make and about a week of disruption in the house. It is fitting that some money from my Aunt’s estate paid for the kitchen, as many of my childhood memories are  of our aunts cooking and baking and feeding my sisters and I every Christmas and every Sunday and many other times as well.

The old kitchen



The new kitchen





The new kitchen



 

 

We have also simplified the garden a bit more by putting a slope under bark, so we don’t have to cut the grass on the slope. We also got a new shed built for all the garden stuff.

We also went on holiday…..a proper holiday out of New Zealand. We went to one of the closest places to NZ, a 3 hour flight to Tonga. We went to a tiny island, a 40 min boat trip from the main island. It was just like the photos until the wind, cloud and rain moved in after 3 days and remained for the next 4 days. We got a lot of reading done. The island had approx. 13 fales (beach house) and the main building with the reception, bar and restaurant. Each fale was out of sight from the others so you only saw people when you went to the bar and restaurant. There were only 20 guests. You could walk round the island in 20 mins and snorkelling and kayaking were the main activities. It was very relaxing but good weather would have helped. Lisa also had been sick before we left home and her cough got worse when we were there. We went back to the main island to get some medicine and see a doctor. The doctor turned out to be from a town 20 mins away from where we live. On that trip to the main island we also saw a whale with a calf close to our boat.

 

 
 


Our fale with our garden

Our fale (beach house) called 'Sunset fale'

Our section of the beach

our view from the fale

Work is also progressing nicely. We have brought in a friend as a partner in the business so the 3 of us are now working at the development side of it. It is all very positive and we are getting a lot done with 3 heads working on our various projects. We have quite a few bookings for the season already and we are launching new tours soon. We are also getting a new website designed as the existing one is now 3 years old (old in web years).

We also have enjoyed winter weather and have been out cycling (without customers). I started up an outdoor circuits class in the village about 12 weeks ago. We meet at the waterfront park and use the park furniture etc to do a circuit. The numbers fluctuate, but there is a core group of about 8. I organised it as we couldn't find a class nearby that did old fashioned circuits. The venue is beautiful and if it rains we use the restaurant at the wharf. It has a big floor space, so we just have to push the tables aside. The 'fee' is a gold coin donation which we will give to a charity.

In some ways I wish the winter season could last longer, as we get to enjoy the area and there are fewer tourists around.

Summer in a flash

Summer came and went in a flash. I guess I could summarise it in one word..work. I dread to think how many hours I did per week in December and January. The admin side of work took up time at night while the days were full and busy at the wharf -hence no blogging for a while!

Our shed proved invaluable as the start of the summer had some days with not good weather. This meant we had some crazy busy days when everyone decided to cycle on the same day.

At home, our llama herd had 4 arrivals with crias born just before Christmas. Unfortunately one was still born. Two weeks ago another one of our adult llamas had to be put down. We couldn’t contact the owner so Lisa had to make the decision to put her down when the vet came out. She then had to get a guy with a very big digger, to dig a very big hole to bury her in. Patsy was quite a character and the herd is different without her.

Autumn is flying past and the colours get more striking by the day. In a week’s time the school holidays will be over and the shed will not open every day, so I will get some time to cycle and do some gardening as well as teach.  Summer was busy, but in some ways autumn has been busier as I juggled teaching  and working at the shed. Our relief staff were great and they worked around when I couldn't be there.

I did manage the odd hour or so off. I have had 2 or 3 complete days off from work in approx. 5 months! Lisa and I went away for 2 days to Hanmer Springs and we went via a back road through a huge station (farm). We drove for about 3 hours on 4x4 roads and the scenery was amazing. There are walking trails through that area. In the middle of nowhere you would come to huts that walkers can stay in, where you would find perfectly good toilets, surrounded by 1000's of ha of vast country.

 I have started to explore some more unsealed back roads close to where we live and I have discovered some great scenery. I will put this knowledge to good use as we expand our tours and include’ back road adventures’ as well as trail routes.

We have had some more tour groups this autumn. One group of 13 did a 6 night/5 day cycle tour. They had a great time and they want to come back to do some more routes. We are busy getting tour info to agents for next year and we hope to revamp our website soon, to promote our tours better and develop some new products.

We are making some changes at home, not least a new kitchen. We hope it will be in before the end of May. We have also decided to put double glazing into all the windows. That is happening in the next 2 weeks, so all in all it could shape up for a busy winter at home. We are going to take a holiday this year (the first time we will have left NZ since we got here, which is almost 3 years ago). We have booked a week on an island in ‘The Kingdom’ of Tonga. The island is called Fa Fa and there is a beach, the sea for snorkelling , the resort provides all our food and there are very few people there.

 

As a summary to our summer, here are the images that I think tell at least some of the story.

A home made boat launched at the wharf, all set for a morning's fishing. It had an outboard motor on the back.

 

People on holiday do the strangest things -- knitting in the middle of a mini roundabout!

Another morning at the wharf, with  Lisa and some staff helping out.

Puff and Spark, born within hours of each other.

 

Puff is a little cria with a big personality

 

Flake. born about 10 hours before the photo was taken

 

 

I will take some more up to date cria photos and blog again soon.

 

 

 

Summer and Christmas

The summer officially started on Dec1st. I was officially 50 on the 5th and for the 3 consecutive 'summer' birthday it rained. The bonus of rain was that Lisa and I had both the day off. The next day was lovely warm weather and we had a "pot luck" garden party on the Friday evening. The pot luck concept is that everyone brings something to eat and it all gets shared. Without any organisation on our part it worked perfectly as there was a great range of food and only one birthday cake. Neither of us thought to take any photos so I have nothing to show.
The week of my birthday was hectic and very exciting as our new shed arrived on the wharf. This has been a long project (approx. a year) which started by us asking the council if we could put a building at the wharf where we usually traded with our trailer etc. On the 3rd Dec it arrived.

 



We moved in and started to get it set up to trade from.

 



We also hosted a couple of local journalists who were following the new cycle trail in the area. They did a special feature in the local newspaper and we got good publicity. I also did a video interview and it got posted on their website.
Our other new stuff  is our new cycle kit. Bonnie wouldn't wear any for the photo but she agreed to have her photo taken.

 

 

 

 

 

The Christmas 'rush' in the shops is still low key by anyone's standards. The locals think the shops are so busy, but they are only a bit busier. A local town had an ad on radio declaring that Christmas opening hours would also include all the shops staying open on the Saturday before Christmas until 5pm!!! (They would mostly close at lunchtime on a Saturday).

We will enjoy a day off on the 25th and then hit a crazy few weeks on the wharf. Hopefully we will have good weather like last year.

A local church has life sized cut outs Joseph, Mary, donkey etc, with  a sign up saying "The world needs a stable influence".

 

Season's greetings to all and a happy 2014.



Sister, Sorrow and Spring

September proved an eventful month. My sister Jan stayed with us for a long weekend in the middle of a business trip. It was funny seeing her again, it seemed like she was out of context…a bit like unpacking familiar household items on the other side of the world. It was nice to show her places we talk about, like the wharf. We also took the chance to go and explore somewhere new, so we went on a 3 hour drive to French Pass.

Not long after she left (but was still in NZ), we got the news from Diane that Aunt Mable had passed away. It was a call I knew I was going to get as she was 94. My Dad had told me a few days earlier that she had a chest infection and he didn’t think she would last more than a week. She didn’t. Jan and I had talked about her when she was here, that was good as no one else here knew her. I mourned her death with a sense of relief as she hadn’t wanted to be alive for the last 11 years. I had said my goodbyes to her before I left. I mentioned it to a couple of people but they had no idea what she meant to me. When you mourn on the other side of the world it seems to be quite a solitary experience. It is also an odd experience waking up in the middle of the night, knowing that a funeral is taking place a long way away. Lisa had met her a couple of times, but my memories of her stem from the huge amount of time my sisters and I spent at ‘the bungalow’. Our aunties were a very big part of our childhood. I will plant a tree in her memory and the memories of our aunties.

The growth and vibrancy of Spring is evident everywhere you look. The garden has burst into life. A beautiful and odd looking tall flower has sprouted up.



The weeds are on turbo charge as well!

Spring also feels like the calm before the storm, in terms of our business. We have lots of bookings and we are starting to get more tourists turning up at the wharf. We have introduced new tours and they are proving popular. We are waiting to get the final go ahead to put a shed on our site at the wharf. That will make a huge difference to our day to day wharf operations. I hope it is going to be there by early December.

Early December also marks the end of the school year. This is my first end of school year at school and it is just like all the others I experienced, except I am not in charge and don’t have to worry about all the admin stuff that goes on. I only had one set of reports to write and there are no school exams for juniors. The end of term staff function will be a lunch and wine tasting, held at a winery and starting at 11.30am. It also which happens to be across the road from where I live! I will also be returning to school next year to teach 3 classes which is almost half of a full time-table!

Out and About

September 1^st  marked the start of spring. New Zealand has had its warmest winter on record and it has felt a bit spring like some time ago. However a cold snap is forecast so we are not packing away our winter clothes just yet. Last week we went for a short break to Wellington. Unfortunately the weather  was wet and windy as we left Nelson airport at 7am. We flew with sounds air whos planes only carry 11 passengers. We set off a bit late and then we had to fly around a bit longer as wellington airport had a technical problem. It was a bumpy ride and I was sick (first time I have been sick on a plane). We should have been ther in 30 mins but it took twice as long. When we eventually arrived we were greeted with rain wind and a chill factor that reminded us of Portrush.  Within a hour of arriving Lisa had bought a hat and we both bought a thermal t-shirt. Windy Welly lived up to its reputation for most of our trip until saturady morning when the sun shone, the wind dropped and Wellingtonians came out to play. The waterfront was buzzing with activity and we sat in the sun and watched a rowing regatta, while listening to a busker. The flight home was with Air New Zealand ( a bigger plane). There were clear skies all the way and we were back at Nelson in less than 30 mins.

A couple of weeks ago I went on a school camp with almost 80 16 year olds. We had had a spell of lovely weather until we went on camp. It rained all the time except for the last morning. On day one I went with the group into Abel Tasman national park. We got a water taxi into the park. There was a huge swell and it was more like a roller coaster ride. 40 mins later we  were dropped off and then started a 3 and a half hour walk back to get collected at a pick up point. It rained the whole time, but there were no complaints and everyone had no choice but to keep walking. The next day they had the choice of doing mountain biking, coasteering, raft building and waka racing (traditional Maori team canoe). I went in the waka and we soon warmed up even though it rained constantly. There was a morning and afternoon session. We went back to camp at lunchtime and  6 boys took the opportunity to hide somewhere and avoid the afternoon session. They were found out, then sent home, then suspended from school for a couple of days!!  On the last morning the sun came out and we got to see how lovely the camp site was. Thankfully the camp was not under canvas. We stayed in cabins and we didn’t have to do our own catering. The food was superb so no one went hungry.

Back on the home front, the gardening continues. Lisa has become addicted to chainsaw work, which is just as well as we had two tress cut down, so there are an awful lot of logs to be cut. As the temperatures  increase the grass has started to grow. The daylight is extending into the evening so it gives us a chance to get out cycling after work and possibly even before work.

 

Lambs and Daylight

The days are starting to get longer and lambs are becoming more common in the fields, so it would seem that Spring is on the way. Some days in the last 2 weeks have certainly felt like spring. It feels like we haven’t had a full winter yet, so there could be a sting before spring!

We have had a fatality in the llama herd. The mum of Rafa, took herself away from the herd. Rafa stayed with her for a bit and then left her alone. She stayed on her own for 2 days and then Lisa found her dead at the edge of the pond. The owner said she was quite old and they tend to die in winter. We then had to get her out of the pond and get her up to the yard. Lisa and I were helped by Margaret, with her tractor. About 4 hours later (including a long tea-break) we had managed to get her wrapped up in tarpaulin and tied onto the grass cutter behind the tractor. We now know how to move a 150kg animal with long legs and a long neck. Let’s hope we don’t have to do it again for quite a while. The owner came and took her away to be buried, so at least we didn’t have to do that.

We continue to do a lot of gardening. We also have a guy coming to cut down a couple of trees, so that should be all the firewood sorted for next winter. Once the trees are cut we will then hire a log splitter and get the wood to fire size pieces. We also want to plant out some areas with coloured grasses. This needs to be done before mid- spring.

The extended daylight (to approx. 6 o’clock) means that we can get out on our bikes after work. We have been enjoying some good cycling weather, we just need to find the time to do it. I plan to cycle to and from work more often this term. I am now going to work at school until the end of the school year (mid-december). We are now teaching geography in the social studies classes this term. We are studying natural disasters, which is very appropriate as we have had a series of some earthquakes not far from here. A couple of weeks ago, a 6.5 earthquake occurred east of here. Wellington had a little bit of damage. We were at home when it happened. We heard the rumble coming across the land and we knew that we would feel it. The house made a few noises and we went outside, where we watched the silk trees shake and the large windows wobbled. As we stood there you could feel  a wave pass underneath your feet. Lots of aftershocks have happened, but they are too small to feel here. Wellington has felt quite a few.

Hopefully the shaking has settled down as we are planning to go to Wellington for a mini break. We went into Abel Tasman national park last week. We are only a 30 min drive to it. We walked to one of the many beaches, had our picnic and walked back again. We will try to use some Fridays when we are both off work to explore some other places we can go to in a day.

BIG NEWS; this blog has now been read more than 2000 times, in fact as I post this it has been read 2058 times. I guess I will keep posting for a bit longer