I am writing right now while looking out of a window over rolling green hills, a river and trees in hundreds of shades of green. We are at the Morepork Lodge - which, contrary to what we thought, is the name of a type of owl not just a place where they really like pork. Although we have had bacon for breakfast each morning.
So last week we did catch up with the fellow interested in the car and he drove it and was happy with it. However, he's a bit too laid back and it wasn't until the next day when we left town that he suggested having it inspected. So, we took it in up in the town we were at and then emailed him the info. He went round and round trying to get quotes on all the work - most of which would be present in a car 16 years old and didn't definitely need immediate repair. So he offered us $400 lower than we agreed - and we were already at our bottom price with him since we just wanted to have it prearranged. At the time we weren't ready to settle for less so the deal did not go through.
In the meantime we filed our taxes and got some tickets for a comedy show. We spent a couple nights in Whangarei and then went to Kerikeri which was about an hour north. Dustin went diving on Wednesday at a place called the Poor Knights Islands and I went for a walk at a stunning beach. But then the rain came and I couldn't lounge on the beach for the afternoon. He enjoyed the dive though. We camped in Kerikeri that night and on Thursday night went to see some comedy. It was 3 Kiwi blokes and we had seen one of them on a weekly current events comedy show they have on TV. We had lots of laughs but there was a table full of guys that decided they wanted to chat during the show rather than watch so they caused trouble for every guy and would call our threats to see them after the show. At the end they had a little Q&A session which was neat but most people were just being silly and saying stuff like "Do you know any good jokes?" and then some guy walked by the stage and swore at them and the MC said "Right, show's over." So it was actually kind of weird overall but the joke were good. The town has about 5000 people and we reckoned that most of the audience just came out for something to see rather than because they are fans of the guys.
Before the comedy show we decided to grab some bait and try our luck fishing. It had been quite some time since we brought the old surfcaster out. We asked at the gas station where to go and made our way down a long road to a beach and climbed over lots of sharp-edged rocks to a spot. It was a bit windy so we went back towards the beach and had luck! We caught 4 snapper but only 2 of them were big enough to keep! So we BBQ'd it that night, and it was great to actually have some big enough to eat - one was about 27cm and the one I reeled in was about 30cm.
So after that we backtracked south just a bit to find our current wwoofing stay. We got in on Friday morning. The couple that live here run a bed and breakfast with 3 rooms - though we're occupying one of the rooms. The woman is out of town for the weekend but we've been enjoying our stay quite a lot. The host is really easy going and cracking jokes all the time. We've been eating really well and have enjoyed visiting with their guests as well - so far they have all been from the UK.
We started with a day off from wwoofing on Friday so we got set up to take a fishing charter out in the afternoon. This area is called the Bay of Islands and it's home to dolphins and lots of sealife. Snapper was again the target and there was only another man and his son on the boat with us. So the captain kept our rods baited and all we had to do was pretty much start reeling once the weight hit the bottom and then you'd have a fish. The captain was funny and he also caught a few fish too. I was the first to bring one on board but it was too small to keep! The legal size is 27cm but the boat doesn't keep anything less than 30cm. Both the other guy on board and Dustin hooked into sharks! Dustin's kept him fighting for almost 30 minutes but in the end he took off and snapped the line. A few times there were groups of 3 or 4 sharks circling round the boat so that was cool to see. They might have been about 6 feet long or something like that. In the end, I didn't reel in one keeper but between Dustin, and the other two guys we still came home with at least 1.5-2kg of snapper. And they clean it and fillet it right on the boat for ya!
So yesterday was a work day and we helped clean up some flood damage that the cyclone caused about 5 weeks ago. The river in the back rose a few metres so there was junk up in trees and broken branches and trees down. Then I worked on taking the netting off of their grapevines and picking grapes. They just planted them and have a good fifty bunches or so from it. They are so juicy! Of course you have to sample as you pick them.
Today Dustin went for another dive, this time it was a wreck dive and then off to a reef for the second dive. I went with the host up to the Sunday market and then we went on a walk in the area. The water is so turquoise and the greens are so vibrant so it was lovely. We will be working again tomorrow and then our plan at the moment is to head out on Tuesday. That will give us 2 weeks left in NZ. We have put our car sale out of our minds because it was stressing us out too much trying to decide how to sell it and how to work out not having a car afterwards and what we'd do. So we'll have to revisit the topic and figure it out.
We might just head south and forget about the northern part of this island but of course we don't entirely want to miss out on some areas that we haven't seen before. But we knew to expect that if we want a decent price for the car, we'd have to start selling early. So, we'll have to still make some decisions.
They have 2 sheep, 2 alpacas and a goat here that I was feeding today. The goat literally headbutts all the others out of the way to get all the food so I was trying to distract it while I fed a sheep or an alpaca. But the goat would climb up the fence or stick its head through the gate! Such a cheeky little fella. I think tomorrow Dustin's going to be building the a house for the goat and I'm not sure if I'll be helping or be tasked with something else. But it's been great to recharge a bit and get out and do some activities. I am keen to stick around a bit longer maybe but we'll see what works out!
So last week we did catch up with the fellow interested in the car and he drove it and was happy with it. However, he's a bit too laid back and it wasn't until the next day when we left town that he suggested having it inspected. So, we took it in up in the town we were at and then emailed him the info. He went round and round trying to get quotes on all the work - most of which would be present in a car 16 years old and didn't definitely need immediate repair. So he offered us $400 lower than we agreed - and we were already at our bottom price with him since we just wanted to have it prearranged. At the time we weren't ready to settle for less so the deal did not go through.
In the meantime we filed our taxes and got some tickets for a comedy show. We spent a couple nights in Whangarei and then went to Kerikeri which was about an hour north. Dustin went diving on Wednesday at a place called the Poor Knights Islands and I went for a walk at a stunning beach. But then the rain came and I couldn't lounge on the beach for the afternoon. He enjoyed the dive though. We camped in Kerikeri that night and on Thursday night went to see some comedy. It was 3 Kiwi blokes and we had seen one of them on a weekly current events comedy show they have on TV. We had lots of laughs but there was a table full of guys that decided they wanted to chat during the show rather than watch so they caused trouble for every guy and would call our threats to see them after the show. At the end they had a little Q&A session which was neat but most people were just being silly and saying stuff like "Do you know any good jokes?" and then some guy walked by the stage and swore at them and the MC said "Right, show's over." So it was actually kind of weird overall but the joke were good. The town has about 5000 people and we reckoned that most of the audience just came out for something to see rather than because they are fans of the guys.
Before the comedy show we decided to grab some bait and try our luck fishing. It had been quite some time since we brought the old surfcaster out. We asked at the gas station where to go and made our way down a long road to a beach and climbed over lots of sharp-edged rocks to a spot. It was a bit windy so we went back towards the beach and had luck! We caught 4 snapper but only 2 of them were big enough to keep! So we BBQ'd it that night, and it was great to actually have some big enough to eat - one was about 27cm and the one I reeled in was about 30cm.
So after that we backtracked south just a bit to find our current wwoofing stay. We got in on Friday morning. The couple that live here run a bed and breakfast with 3 rooms - though we're occupying one of the rooms. The woman is out of town for the weekend but we've been enjoying our stay quite a lot. The host is really easy going and cracking jokes all the time. We've been eating really well and have enjoyed visiting with their guests as well - so far they have all been from the UK.
We started with a day off from wwoofing on Friday so we got set up to take a fishing charter out in the afternoon. This area is called the Bay of Islands and it's home to dolphins and lots of sealife. Snapper was again the target and there was only another man and his son on the boat with us. So the captain kept our rods baited and all we had to do was pretty much start reeling once the weight hit the bottom and then you'd have a fish. The captain was funny and he also caught a few fish too. I was the first to bring one on board but it was too small to keep! The legal size is 27cm but the boat doesn't keep anything less than 30cm. Both the other guy on board and Dustin hooked into sharks! Dustin's kept him fighting for almost 30 minutes but in the end he took off and snapped the line. A few times there were groups of 3 or 4 sharks circling round the boat so that was cool to see. They might have been about 6 feet long or something like that. In the end, I didn't reel in one keeper but between Dustin, and the other two guys we still came home with at least 1.5-2kg of snapper. And they clean it and fillet it right on the boat for ya!
So yesterday was a work day and we helped clean up some flood damage that the cyclone caused about 5 weeks ago. The river in the back rose a few metres so there was junk up in trees and broken branches and trees down. Then I worked on taking the netting off of their grapevines and picking grapes. They just planted them and have a good fifty bunches or so from it. They are so juicy! Of course you have to sample as you pick them.
Today Dustin went for another dive, this time it was a wreck dive and then off to a reef for the second dive. I went with the host up to the Sunday market and then we went on a walk in the area. The water is so turquoise and the greens are so vibrant so it was lovely. We will be working again tomorrow and then our plan at the moment is to head out on Tuesday. That will give us 2 weeks left in NZ. We have put our car sale out of our minds because it was stressing us out too much trying to decide how to sell it and how to work out not having a car afterwards and what we'd do. So we'll have to revisit the topic and figure it out.
We might just head south and forget about the northern part of this island but of course we don't entirely want to miss out on some areas that we haven't seen before. But we knew to expect that if we want a decent price for the car, we'd have to start selling early. So, we'll have to still make some decisions.
They have 2 sheep, 2 alpacas and a goat here that I was feeding today. The goat literally headbutts all the others out of the way to get all the food so I was trying to distract it while I fed a sheep or an alpaca. But the goat would climb up the fence or stick its head through the gate! Such a cheeky little fella. I think tomorrow Dustin's going to be building the a house for the goat and I'm not sure if I'll be helping or be tasked with something else. But it's been great to recharge a bit and get out and do some activities. I am keen to stick around a bit longer maybe but we'll see what works out!
Hi Guys: Sorry to hear the car sale fell through. Your luck seems to be changing though as you have luck fishing now. Nice fresh snapper! Sounds good. Reminds us of the place in Puerto Vallarta where we took you for the shrimp feeds as they do a red snapper with a bunch of shrimp. I have a job offer. It's working for a Medical Courier service in Victoria. About 6 hrs a day 5 days a week. I wouldn't work weekends or statutory holidays. I think I will take it and see how it goes. I would be using our car as a vehicle is not supplied. I will have to become an owner/ operator and maybe open my own small business. I'll see if that's really necessary. We bought a new vacuum and a new 32" HD Samsung TV. We have't gone for the HD PVR cable box from Shaw yet. Telus gives it to you as a new customer but Shaw says we have to pay for it. It's about $350+tax for the HD PVR box. I think I'll phone Shaw first and ask if they will give me a box like Telus does before we buy one. Not long now and you'll be in Australia! Continue your writings as we enjoy them immensely. Hasta luego! Much Love to you both. Dad & Mom
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