Much needed escape

January was... well, a bit of a nightmare. We had the kids down at Kaiaua for back to back 12 day stints with 1 day off in between to re-up on groceries and get the place clean for the second lot. I got sick and missed 4 days of work. And, by the end of it, all Dan and I wanted to do was go away and forget that it ever happened! Just imagine 14-20 kids whining your name at the same time for 12 days, all day long. You start to run out of patience! 

Anyway, we decided to head over to our favorite place in New Zealand - the Coromandel Peninsula. Known for its white sandy beaches, pristine bush, and amazing fishing spots, I couldn't wait. We went to a place called Hahei, where my mother and father treated us to some amazing accommodation for a night!  

Our first adventure was night fishing at a ferry landing to catch Mackerel,  our bait for the following day. I used my never-fail fishing technique, which you really have to see to fully understand, but it goes a little something like this: put a line of hooks in the water, bend over and watch for the fish to come take a peek at what you have, when they go in for a taste, jerk the rod and pull the hooks quickly out of the water and over your shoulder, effectively launching the unexpecting fish out of the water and onto the dock. This only works for blue mau mau and apparently mackerel.  I have to say, I did end up with a hook in my finger, which the ferry master had to remove for me - not exactly the most pleasant experience. 

The following day we headed north to Otama for a hike along some hills/cliffs to a beautiful fishing spot on the rocks. Along the way, we saw 3 sharks cruising near shore! Very exciting!!!!!

The start of our hike - Dan looking out over the crystal clear water. (You could see through the waves the water was so clear!!)

Otama Beach - we have this picture posted to the wall in our kitchen... a friendly reminder of why we need to save money so we can someday live overlooking a beach like this ;)

Snorkeling in the crystal clear waters! Didn't see much, but it was nice to get used to the snorkel and get prepared for the next days attempt!

We stayed at a camp site in Hahei for most of the time we were there. Down the beach from camp, we found this amazing tree swing from a Pohutukawa off a cliff. This is Dan soaring through the air! It was a truly amazing experience - like you were flying! That is, until the rope snapped! Thankfully Dan stopped himself before it got too dangerous! 

A Pohutukawa towering over the beach.

Enjoying some morning tea and a newspaper at The Church - converted from a church into accomodation - amazing native gardens and funny chickens running around!

After our travels, we returned home to find the Monarchs were hatching! I think we had about 20 Chrysalises in the first round - they just kept coming!!

Christmas Down Under

We had some time off of work over christmas and new years before our crazy summer holidays with the kids (which was 24 days of work in a row!). We held Christmas at our house, with friends and family coming to join in the celebrations! It was my first warm Christmas - which meant a lovely Christmas dinner in the front yard! 

From left to right: Gra, Karen, Dan, me, Tom and Chaundra.

We also went for a journey to a west coast beach - which is very different than east coast beaches. The sand is black and there are cliff faces greeting you from every direction, the waves are big and the sea is seems to be angry. It was a very different beach day from the peaceful and calm east coast, with its white sandy beaches and beautiful coves.....

 For a bit of an escape during our time off we decided to head down to Taranaki - where Dan grew up. Unfortunately, we chose to go when the rain decided to come, so I don't have many pictures. It was a great time though - and we even got to see the mountain for about 30 seconds when she peeked out from behind the clouds!

Mt Taranaki peeking out!

View of the coast/town of New Plymouth from the top of Paratutu - a big tall rock you can climb up. 

After moving in we found that some new skills needed to be acquired - that is aside from learning to care for several animals. We first tried to spend a lot of time playing and relaxing. 

Dan and Karen on the front porch enjoying the afternoon sun. 

Target practice!! I shot my first gun -- well its an air rifle, so not really a gun, but still. Pretty cool! 

An interesting "thing" came along with this new job and new property. We soon came to realize that, even though we live out in the country far away from the hustle and bustle of towns or cities, our life here would prove to be very exciting. In fact, it seemed that at least once a week we were to be surprised by some unpredictable event. The first of those.... we were busy outside restoring some stairs and were startled by a very loud bang boom bang bang bang boom!!!!! See picture below...

Someone fell asleep at the wheel and took out a fence, a tower with two water tanks, a shed with a water pump and compression tank, a couple tree stumps, and best of all - a cement, reinforced power pole! Good Work!!! Thank God they were just fine - I suppose that is the appeal of driving an SUV.

Cruising around on the motorbike!

The awesome water hole at the edge of the property - great jumping and swimming!!

Sunset after a rainy afternoon with a funny rainbow 

Meet Puka. She was the runt of the litter of kittens we inherited. We kept her as well as Puma. Puka is a character to say the least. And she absolutely LOVES showing off her tummy!

PLUMS!!!! We have several plum trees that are sooooooooo tasty!!!! 

And we moved onto somewhat of a farm...

One of the surprises we encountered upon commencing our work for Dingwall was that we were to inherit a lot of animals. We ended up with 7 chickens, 2 bunnies (brother and sister -- and you know what that means), and 1 cat with her 5 kittens! Dan and I have never cared for chickens, bunnies or kittens. So, as you can imagine, we were in for a bit of a lesson. 

Of course -- because that is the way things seem to go on this property - the chickens roamed freely (even into the house leaving little poopy treasures behind them) and were terrified of humans. So, first on the agenda was to clip their wings and contain them so we wouldn't walk into the house and find them sorting through our rubbish!

Tom escorting "whitie" to her wing clipping. 

Me with "whitie"

We decided quickly that caring for the chickens would be manageable because of what they give us every day! Very funny sized eggs - that one on front right is just a bit smaller than my fist!

The kittens were about 2 weeks old when we moved in. This one we ended up keeping, her name is Puma she is still pretty adorable! 

Me with three tiny kittens!!!

Chickens hanging out in their coop - finally contained and getting more friendly with us. 

Sleepy kittens - there are 5 in there ;)

Me with the bunnies that I didn't particularly care for. We got rid of them because we didn't want hundreds running about. 

Our new job

Dan and I got a job working for a trust called the Dingwall Trust. It is based in Auckland. They care for sibling groups that have been removed from their families for one reason or another. Dan and I live south of Auckland in a town called Kaiaua. Here we live on a rather large property taking care of the place, and we host the children on weekends and school holidays. Our job is pretty much to live and make the area we care for as safe and fun for the children. When the children are with us, we play! 

This is the property - on the right side of the road... bordering the Hauraki Gulf!

The view from our house -- that's the Coromandel peninsula on the other side of the Hauraki Gulf. 

This is my house!!!! See the water off to the left - lots of amazing sun rises here!

This is part of the property where we host the kids... 

Back to NZ - Sept 2011

After a summer in Connecticut with the family working as a diving coach Dan and I returned to New Zealand at the end of September 2011. We arrived back and stayed with Karen and Gra in Thames until we sorted out employment and housing. Meanwhile, there were many fun projects to work on!! 

Gra started building a outdoor fire bath - awesome!! So Dan and I helped him to finish it...

Before..... 

After!! - steps, lovely little rocks and some weed mat..

And oh boy is it relaxing!!!!

This is the Kauaeranga Valley - dont' ask me how to pronounce that!!!!! Amazing valley in Thames that has a river running through it and incredible bush walks--- ANDDDDD Swing bridges! Man are they fun and amazing!!! 

Dan and I on the swing bridge. 

Road trip across the US with Dan - May 2011

I haven't written in AGES! Well, since March 2011, which was 1 year ago - quite a while! So I have A LOT to catch up on.... Lets start with last May. Dan and I flew to California and, after spending some time catching up with Margaret, packed up our belongings and headed east in my little subaru! First stop - Joshua Tree!! 

Cholla Cactuses (teddy bear cactuses)!!! Only grow in a small pocket in the park - 

pretty phenomenal things

Me and Dan with the chollas

Boulders in the campground. 

Sunset over the boulders

Next stop - Zion National Park, Utah. Amazing redrocks and huge views! We stayed one night in the campground at the entrance, then ventured north. We hiked into our second campsite, down a valley 2 miles to set up camp. Then we went on a hike to see the world's largest arch..

Getting ready to leave for the journey!

Gorgeous mountains we hiked around - started on the left side and ended up on the right.

Little waterfalls and a huge canyon

Very tall canyon wall....

Next stop, Grand Canyon -- North Rim, Arizona. We found the most incredible campspot that not many people know about! Only one spot 1 mile hike to the rim, and we slept about 5 feet from the rim - exhilarating!!! 

The FLAT drive to the canyon

WE FOUND IT!!! 

And isn't it GRAND!! 

Dan standing on a ledge....

Another incredible view.....

Beautiful cactus flowers

 Onwards northeast to Arches National Park in Utah!!! Red rocks EVERYWHERE and crazy spires and arches dot the road...

Balancing Rock

Dan trying to jump into the arch

Red Canyon wall meets the sky..... 

All in all it was an incredible journey. Dan got to see the expanse of the might U.S. and we both got to experience the mighty west and its amazing rocks and views.