Setting up in Nelson

After emptying the tanks and filling with water we left Lindale at 0900 and drove through light drizzle to the ferry terminal in Wellington, arriving at 1000. We had a cup of tea and waited for our ferry which was due to leave at 1300. We were first in the queue. While we were waiting another motor home came along built on a 1996 Toyota Coaster like ours. They had the bed across the back and a dinette behind the driver’s seat. The bed was a Queen size, and went right to the back of the bus. There was also no wood along the windows, which means that the bed was longer than ours. The bus had only been finished a week or so and was a credit to the owner who had built it himself.
It was really windy when we left Wellington, but as it was a North Westerly the strait was quite smooth.
After arriving in Picton we drove to Blenheim to look for somewhere to stay. We had the address of the Bowling club, but no idea where the street was. A seven metre bus with a trailer is not the best vehicle to be driving round a town looking at street signs! After not too long we arrived in Renwick, where we spent the night behind the Woodbourne tavern.
The drive through to Nelson on Friday was easy and uneventful and we made contact with some of the members of the Yacht Club. The weekend has been taken up with settling in to the motor camp and preparing to start work on Monday. The picture shows our campsite with the little Honda shuttle provided for the New coach and Development manager.
The whole set up of the job is exciting with club members keen to assist. Nelson Yacht Club is the oldest in New Zealand and this is their 150th year.

On Saturday we drove back to Auckland, and after some shopping set up at Phil and Erin’s. They made use of the Grandparents by going out for dinner and a movie. Sunday afternoon we went and looked at another house with Struan and Debbie. The land agents in West Auckland play silly games! It seems as though hey are too used to a sellers’ market and do not want to work for the buyer. On Sunday night we had a family dinner at The Phil Judds’ house which was most enjoyable – kinda like an early Christmas feast. After warranting and registering the trailer we travelled to Morrinsville on Monday. The night with Frank and Rita was most enjoyable. Tuesday we drove to Waiouru, stopping at the National Trout Centre on the way. This is a must visit for any fishermen. There are lots of big fish just sitting there! As we drove across the desert road the wind was whipping dust off the bare patches of ground and at one stage it was like driving through fog. The weather really packed in after we stopped at the Army Museum with rain and the wind rocking the bus. It was also COLD. An extra blanket and a sleeping bag on the bed kept us warm and we ran the heater for half an hour before we got up. This morning we drove down to Paraparaumu where we had lunch before setting up camp for the night at the Lindale Motor Park. This is a good place to stay Not too expensive and the manager really made us welcome.

Farewell Whangamata

The weather on Saturday was miserable. There was drizzle in the morning, a pause and then it set in to rain. Grace and Gavan arrived around eleven and Lorna, Struan, Debbie, Phil, Erin, and Zoe at about twelve. Everybody stood and sat amongst the furniture and boxes for a while. We had lunch in the storage room. Struan and Phil and their families left soon after to head back to Auckland. Gavan and Grace stayed on for two nights. Gavan was a great help lifting things, cleaning and assisting to get everything in to storage. Lorna and Mike spent the week sorting and storing their goods. We still cannot find the cords to any of the portable radios – so there is no music in the shed.
The manufacturers of the C-TUG canoe dolly sent the replacement parts so Mike went out in the ocean again on Thursday. Caught no fish and began to get cold. Landing back on the beach was much less exciting than last week. Mike came ashore further up the beach where the waves were smaller and had to walk the canoe round to the estuary. The tide rushes out through the river mouth and maybe launching would be better done on the beach. We will head up to Auckland on Saturday to farewell the family before setting off south on Monday. It is a little sad that we will not be making the most of our property here for a while but the prospects in Nelson are really exciting.

Preparing to go South

Well Mike is back in Whangamata finishing off the storage room. Lorna was asked to work for another week to finalise some accounts or something. Sail one was as busy as usual and North Harbour Hire was frantic. Plumbing was not very productive.
Staying with Bob was a godsend Mike even helped test some of his wine collection.
The job in Nelson is all confirmed and signed up. Mike will be overseeing the training programme for the Nelson Yacht Club starting on the 25th September and finishing at the Optimist Nationals in April 2007. We will be crossing the strait on about the 20th.
Mike has bought a mountain bike as a supplementary means of travel. It has been great in Whangamata as the land is flat. It takes seven minutes to cycle to the supermarket on the other side of town. The last couple of days have been spent making a towing set up so that the kayak can be towed to the ramp. The maiden trip was a success. The cycle towed the kayak to the ramp with not too much effort on Mike’s part. The wheeled dolly was stowed in the front of the kayak while the intrepid fisherman ventured out in to the ocean. Fishing was unsuccessful and on the way back in a wave flipped the canoe. It is not easy to get back in to a canoe in surf! By the time (about 20 minutes) Mike was able to get his feet on sand and get back in, the dolly had come apart and some pieces had floated off to join the old pair of beach shoes, the spare hooks, sinkers, fishing knife and an old pair of glasses. Getting the canoe back involved unplugging the bus, taking down the awning, hitching up the trailer and driving to the ramp and back.
Being right next to the RSA has real advantages when one does not want to cook.
Lorna is coming down on Saturday and we will stay here to the end of the week before heading south.