A Busy Winter in New Zealand

For all of you who wonder where we live when we are in New Zealand we thought we would drop a few photos into the blog for you.

We returned to New Zealand to catch up with family and sort out the house and other issues. We had left in 2021 expecting to be away for three months and were away for a year. Not much changes.

We returned to a typical Auckland grey and cold winter. Lots of wind and clouds but it was lovely to be back walking along the beaches, sailing model yachts – instead of big ones and trying to get the house, containers full of gear, and garages full of gear, into some sort of order. The gardens took several weeks to get under control again.

Here are a few photos of our four months in New Zealand.

Omaha Beach

The godwits have returned for the summer. There is a protected area at the end of Omaha for them but after big storms that have pushed the dune grasses back, they can be found on all the relatively clear patches. https://www.omahashorebirds.co.nz/species/species-godwit They are an amazing bird that migrates to Alaska and back -. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/09/new-zealand-finally-welcomes-godwit-two-months-after-it-was-blown-2000km-back-to-alaska

We came home to the cat and the dog who didn’t seem to have suffered, although the cat was really cuddly and wanted to stay attached to us while we were around. Jess thinks she has to stay inside and be warm.

Lucky, the dog, was just happy to have someone to play with and didn’t care about the weather he just wanted to play on the beach. We ended up with a second dog for some time as the couple who look after the house while we were away went on a holiday of their own and left Max as well to play around with Lucky so they would not be separated.

Garden

We had undertaken a lot of planting before we left in 2021. When we got home we did find that the gardens were full of weeds and were out of control and quite a few plants had died. After a few weeks of work and with the help of some gardeners we soon had them looking good again.

The gardens have made a huge difference to the bird life which is very pleasing. Although we normally get many Tuis I did not get any photos. A couple of wood pigeons seemed to have taken control of the garden and all the kowhai trees.

Hew using shed tools to sear steak!!

The weather had been very windy while we were away and also after we got home. The wind sock needed to be put up again and blown down once then replaced again!!.

We seemed to be so busy that I did not go flying but all the Seareys came to visit at different times however this was the only photo I managed.

Despite some very bad weather, there were also some beautiful evenings.

Model Yacht Sailing

Since we do not have a big yacht in New Zealand we join the local model yacht group and race model yachts every Tuesday and sometimes more often. The races are held on a pond in the middle of the Omaha golf course. https://www.facebook.com/groups/326445715501242/A very windy day on the lake.

Catching up with friends and family

When were first got back there were many family members and friends to catch up with in Auckland but we also made three trips, about one a month, to other parts of the country to catch up with the non-Aucklanders. Being overseas you forget that everyone wants to see you when you get home and the list gets very long.

My brother Neville who had crossed the Atlantic with us, had come home and got married (which we missed) and then had a medical event and was recovering but was the first to come around.

His son, Theo, was also up visiting from Christchurch and we had not seen him for some time.

Tongariro National Park and Family – June

We organised a trip to Taupo for two reasons, to catch up with Hew’s family and to see old friends of Hews.

On the trip down it was good to see some local art on power substations and toilet blocks, after seeing so many decorated buildings overseas.

Mount Ruapehu appeared with a light topping of snow so we knew we were getting close.

The first part of the trip was a two-night stay at the Chateau Tongariro https://www.chateau.co.nz/with Hew’s sister and brother and law Barbie and Roger. It was a “blast from the past” but we really enjoyed it. The other brother and sister had just visited each other and both families had caught covid so they did not make the first part of the trip but we caught up with them at Taupo.

We managed to go up in the new Gondola on the Whakapapa Skifield https://www.mtruapehu.com/whakapapa for a look but you were not allowed out past the Knoll Ridge Cafe because the skifield was closed. Still not enough snow on the lower slopes.

We also managed to have a look at two of the local short walks in the Tongariro National Park https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/central-north-island/places/tongariro-national-park/?tab-id=50578 while we were there. One short track was near the Chateau and one further down the road will a waterfall called Gollums Pool!

Taupo Friends – June

At Taupo, we managed to connect up with some more of the family members and 5 different lots of old friends who now all live within 500m of each other!! Amazing.

Amongst all the visiting was included a walk around the Waipahihi Scenic Park http://www.waipahihibotanicalgardens.co.nz/ which was lovely with the Camelias in flower and the Rhododendrons just starting.

Tairua with Pete – August

Pete who crossed the Atlantic with us had been home for some months and spent his time finishing his renovations on not one house but two. Neither Hew nor I had seen Pete’s house at Tairua so we went down for a few days to have a look at progress. The house is situated on a small hill at the southern end of the beach and has a fabulous lookout north over the beach and also the inner harbour. https://www.tairua.co.nz/

There is a walkway near the house down through the bush with a lovely seat just above the beach for a rest on the way up. Called Pete’s seat but was not named after this Pete.

Tui in the bush around Pete’s house.

We did go for a look around beaches further north looking for a lunch spot and cafe. The beaches were there but most of the cafes shut, many of which were shut since covid and had not opened yet for the summer period. This was one, Te Karo Bay ( Sailors Grave)https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/coromandel/places/tairua-area/sailors-grave-memorial/, which was a typical New Zealand beach, was an old kauri logging site with a small stream and surrounded by pohutukawa.

Sailing with Graeme – September

We were fast running out of time but Graeme had been on our yacht with us in Croatia which then inspired him to order a yacht for his retirement. We could not say no so went out for two days to a lovely spot near Kawau called Moturekreka Island. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moturekareka_Island.

It was very interesting to see a brand new Fountaine Pajot Astrea and what changes have been made. Would we trade it for ours? No, but we did like the cabin lights and will swap out ours for the new ones. But we had a lovely couple of days and it was great to be back on the water.

I think that this blog is long enough but I have still not covered the two ski trips we managed in the South Island so I have finished with just all the North Island activities. The South Island time will be in Part 2.