Homeless and fancy free.

  Friday 31 July.  After the two young women I hired to do a final houseclean had finished I returned to Margaret and John's for lunch and to pick up Tui. My house was no longer my house it belongs now  to a young couple who were very excited. So I had a quick lunch and then Tui and I left on our road trip North. Dorothy met me at Akarana Golf course car park just off Highway 20 where she took Nana’s little chair and the book about David Khouri and then I was on my way. The NW motorway was jammed but since I was in no hurry that was Ok and I trundled along and followed the Google maps directions to get to Colin and Ros’s house on the Bethells Beach road. Sure went some very strange back roads but I got there.

Colin was working so it was just Ros and I. I caught up on most of the happenings at the Uni.  Some of the changes and lack of action were leaving quite a few unhappy. They are again searching for a new Dean. Nick Smith has gone to QUT, Bryony is at Waikato, Margaret Hyland is at Victoria Uni of Wellington and Ros is resisting calls for her as the current Deputy Dean  to apply. Gerard is currently acting Dean. Colin is not a happy chap and thinks he bumped something drastic on the fancy electron microscope that day so he suspects he will be even more unhappy on Monday[LG1] . The young corgi Bradman was very enthusiastically wanting to lick and make contact with Tui who was resisting fairly vigorously but after a while she just ignored him.

Saturday 1 August

I slept in the campervan and the wind wasn’t too strong so the swaying bamboo didn’t bother me. Next morning my phone wouldn’t turn on. Nothing we could do got it going, even when I tried the hard start that I had been shown. I suspected it was dying as it had been losing charge very fast. Ros and Colin conferred on what would be best for me and Ros drove me to Henderson to PB Tech Express to get a new one. The chap there got the old one going again but I decided to carry on with getting a new one as I couldn’t go travelling without a phone and it might die again. The I tripped over the little wooden rails in the car park and did a flying spectacular landing which luckily didn’t damange or break anything, neither phones or my body. But I did feel a real fool!  Once we were back home Colin  set  about transferring all my apps and data from the old phone to the new one which is possible when the old one is still going and able to connect to a wifi connection. SO finally after a couple of hours that doing that update took I prepared to set off and then calamity no 3. The camper van wouldn’t start. Definitely flat battery. So called AA and he got it started but his diagnostic tool said my old battery was stuffed. So he called the AA battery van and they came out and fitted a new battery. Thank good ness I had money in the bank! What an expensive day!!  Colin said I had to stay another night and he cooked gourmet pizzas for us. By this time Tui and Bradman the Corgi were on better terms although Bradman was still very enthusiastically trying to make friends with Tui. She wasn’t as bothered which was good.

Bradman trying to make friends with a disdainful Tui

Rosalind with Farron and Colin with Bradman

o Sunday morning after another breakfast cooked by Colin I finally set off into a drizzly morning. I headed north up through Helensville, AWellsford and then turned left for Dargaville. Meanwhile it was wet, grey and not very scenic weather. So I decided to go to the NZMCA parkover at Dargaville which is between two rivers. Quite a few there. Not cold so when the rain eased I put on raincoat and took Tui for a walk to find the museum. Well somehow we didn’t find the museum but I did over 6000 steps so that was good. There were rather quaint old homes along the River Road and they obviously have a heritage trail as there were little hiistories on noticeboards detailing who had lived there etc. eg one four roomed cottage had been lived in by a couple with 10 children for over 50 years.  I rang Ronnie and she promised better weather up north.

Ronnie was intrigued with Tui's ability to lie flat with back legs out

Feeding out time with Ronnie

Tauranga Bay

So Sunday morning after another breakfast cooked by Colin I finally set off into a drizzly morning. I headed north up through Helensville, AWellsford and then turned left for Dargaville. Meanwhile it was wet, grey and not very scenic weather. So I decided to go to the NZMCA parkover at Dargaville which is between two rivers. Quite a few there. Not cold so when the rain eased I put on raincoat and took Tui for a walk to find the museum. Well somehow we didn’t find the museum but I did over 6000 steps so that was good. There were rather quaint old homes along the River Road and they obviously have a heritage trail as there were little hiistories on noticeboards detailing who had lived there etc. eg one four roomed cottage had been lived in by a couple with 10 children for over 50 years. 

Monday morning I setoff again – still drizzly and the Google maps sent me up the ostensibly shortest route up the Tangowahine valley – maybe shorter on km but windy and narrow through farms and forests all looking very green. Not rich farming country but some of it very pretty. Big hills on the eastern side of the valley. Once through KAikohe I had to do a detour as the Mangamuka gorge was still closed by slips after the heavy rain two weeks ago. So I went west again through Broadwood to the coast and into Kaitaia. I hadn’t been that way for ages as Peter and I used to like to go up through Opononi and the Hokianga. I believe I canoed the river that ran down through the centre – more like a creek from memory than a river!

 

I found Ronnie’s house but need to remember that the address is actually 65 Peria Rd not Fairburn. Luckily her flood waters had all gone down and she had a beautifully metalled driveway now so I could take the campervan right up to the house.The gumboots weren’t needed. No cows were being milked either. She had a big new shed and the place was looking better and slightly more prosperous that it had looked five or so years ago when Peter and I went there. After a cuppa and chat we went out on her “mule’ – four wheel ride on thingy – and we took hay to her cows and fed maize to a bunch of wild ducks and pukekos who come when they are called. Nice beef casserole for dinner and I turned in reasonably early. Had a good sleep and the sun had come out as promised.

Tuesday morning.

I couldnt get Bill G on the phone so I decided to go through to Kerikeri and stay the night at Rainbow Falls at another NZMCA parkover property. Peria Rd goes through to Taipa. Gosh the beaches Cable Bay and Coopers Beach looked lovely in the sunshine! What I call typical NZ east coast – golden sands and pohutukawas with lovely rocky promontories at each end of the bays. I drove round and into the scenic tourist route, so I had lunch at Tauranga Bay – gorgeous. I remember canoeing there on our Cavalli Island trip back about 2003. Beautiful views.

 

View from the hill overlooking Matauri Bay and the Cavalli Islands

Got here about 3pm so walked down to the Rainbow Falls. Lovely forest walk with ferns and natives and the sound of waterfall and rapids…. Lots of motorhome shere – all bigger than me but I am a legitimate member so I am fine … I don’t need alcoholic Happy Hour drinkies.. have good books and tea bags! Still using up stuff from the fridge so going to be a hotchpotch dinner.

Wednesday morning

Finally got an email from Bill. He had only just seen my email about shifting house but hoped I would call in. So I contacted him asap and said I would be there late morning or lunchtime. Tui and I had a nice walk around the Kerikeri Stone Store and the pa site on the hill. 

Rainbow Falls, Kerikeri

interesting rock formation on the path down from the Falls

Couldn’t go into the store with a dog and not sure if it was open at that tiem of the morning. I went up to Bill Godfrey’s for morning tea and had a little chat. All good. Didn’t talk about Peter or anything controversial. He and Shirley have some decided opinions on politics, Covid and maoris…. Then I trundled down to Opua. Had a quick pie from acoffee shop on the sea shore at Ti Bay which I think is one beach before Paihia.  Bills place is up the hill on Oromahoe rd – Awelcoming family home with magnificent views. Family made me most welcome. The 13 year old Callum is majorly into mountain bike competition and Ella who is 11 I think at the moment wants a horse. They had a big white dog they called a Swiss shepherd. Shaka was his name – very easy going and Tui was quite calm with him. Toni is officially home schooling the kids although I think the correct term might tbe unschooling – she follows the Steiner/ Waldorf model of education but it is complicated because Callum has dyslexia and Bill says he reads reasonably well but doesn’t write well at all. I didn’t see much evidence of regular schoolwork. The Waldorf education system concentrates on creativity and self development. They are both articulate, friendly kids and no doubt will find their way in the world. Bills work now includes mostly marine insurance of the Blue water yachting kind – and yacht brokering. I did some washing and reading while they were doing their various commitments and Toni cooked a vegan African nut stew with rice which was delicious. Their dog has a meat allergy so he has vegan dog food. Tui liked it! We adjusted the van in the driveway so that it was on a flat level and I slept well.

Bill Toni Callum and Ella with Shaka and Tui

Tui was a great hit with Ella

Thursday

Next morning I got hold of Lynda Jury using Fbook messenger  and got instructions how to find her at Ruakaka. I set off about 10am.

Lynda and  her husband Brian have got a few acres on a hillside above Ruakaka with views out over the beach and the islands – magnificent. She has done up a barn to make a very comfortable home. Had a cuppa and some crackers and then set off for Mangawhai. Stopped in Waipu for diesel and fresh bread and finally got to  Mangawhai – cloudy and a bit chilly so didn’t go for a walk but snuggled up with a book. Scrambled eggs on toast for dinner.

Lynda and her husband Brian at Ruakaka and little Sheba

I set off on Friday morning for Auckland and made aleisurely trip out of it with a lunch stop at Wenderholm. 

Got to Glendowie about 2pm and then used the school wifi to catchup on the database.

Residential weekend went well. Nice to see everyone again and it seems a pity to be taking off to another city when obviously there are people there who care. 

Sunday afternoon we finished about 2.30pm so I got organised and headed off after a stop at Takanini Animates to get some flea treatment stuff for Tui who had develpped a dreadful scratching which might havebeen due to catching a flea or two. She was shedding hair a real treat and keeping me awake with scratching. 

 Got to Turangi after a leisurely trip down and met up with Margaret and John. I slept inside and was grateful for a warm comfortablebed although I had slept well in the campervan for the whole of the last week. 

I got away about 9am and John and margaret were going to follow shortly therafter. I didnt drive awfully fast and found it easy going. The weather for the Desert Road was clear and blue sky although there were menacing grey clouds on the horizon and predictions for rain later. I made it to Palmerwston North by about 12.30pm where Joanthan awaited me. John and MArgaet werent much longer and after a cuppa and a toasted sandwich for everyone I took them round to the new house. So after dutifully admiring it they took off while Jonathan and I checked out a few things. 

The next adventure in my life begins!

 [LG1]