Thursday 23 October Thanks to Louis’ avid weather app watching, we were in exactly the right spot when the long predicted “weather event” arrived on Wednesday night around 10pm. The rain was quite strong all night, but we only got a few wild gusts hitting us in the morning, along with some loud and rumbly grumbly thunder rolling around the hills. I woke at 7ish to find we were not floating nor lying on our side, so I popped the electric heater on… until it stopped suddenly 10

Wednesday 22 October A lazy start to the day while we read up about things to do in & around Reefton and chatted to our POP hosts, Bob & Linda, and tried to make friends with Razz, their toy schnauzer who wasn't having a bar of it. There weren’t any specific cycle tracks in the area but Bob suggested a road out to the Waitahu River so we got down the bikes and set off. Met an old hunter down at the bridge over the river with his dog Taz - he’d just walked out of the bush wit

Tuesday 21 October Our most random day yet - the rain had started around 10pm and was so fierce it woke us several times as it battered down on Banjo overnight. So we holed up inside our lovely warm & dry cocoon most of the morning, until it gradually died away around noon. Watching the weather forecasts and the reports coming in about flooding, land slips and other stormy chaos threw our planning into disarray, but Jeremy at the Matai Milking POP advised they were still abo

Monday 20 October A day of fun & adventures around Murchison. Had a chat with Errol who was staying onsite with his very cute griffon, then Louis went off wandering to find coffee and announced he’d discovered the best pies in town; so as we set off on our bikes for a cycle ride down to Six Mile we swung by the Tutaki bakery truck and pre-purchased a spicy lamb mince pie to pick up on our way back… Lee bakes once a day and when everything is sold he closes up for the day so

Sunday 19 October Awoke to the sound of rain and Louis making coffee as the power was on a planned outage from 7am! We packed up Banjo and were on the road by 9am, hoping to get to Murchison before the rain & wind gusts hit. Following the raging Buller River, swollen by last night’s precipitation, we hit a few gusty spots, but pulled safely into the Murchison NZMCA an hour or so later. Checked the Windy app and parked in the most protected spot we could find, then set off to

Saturday 18 October With one eye on the weather apps and another on the scudding clouds, we decided to take things a little easier and set out mid-morning to walk around the peninsula on a rather monochromatic day - following in our footsteps from our visit in January. The path was largely empty - maybe 3-4 walkers came our way - and we paused frequently to try & spot the Tui & bell birds we could hear chattering around us. I found a rock and tried to recreate the famous Lit

Friday 17 October Just another stunning day in the Nelson Lakes National Park - I woke around 7.30 and wandered out to catch the morning light over the lake. It was colder than I realised as I walked along the jetty, leaving frosty footprints on the wooden structure, but oh so beautiful! After our unexpectedly hilly walk the day before, we opted to follow the Anglers’ Walk along the Buller River from where it left the lake at West Bay to the bridge on SH63 and back. It was mu

Thursday 16 October Spring sunshine was peeping through the clouds as the birdsong woke us up and continued to break through as the morning progressed. We walked up to the DOC I-site to get information about local walks and decided on a few that fit our profile (oldish, unfit, one dodgy back and two dodgy knees!) We went back to Banjo, packed a picnic and assorted layers and set off to the carpark halfway up Mt Robert where we picked up Paddy’s Track which apparently mainly f

Wednesday 15 October Started the day with a singalong boogie online with my sister video calling me from the Bjorn Again gig in London - you can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life! 🎶. Half of the Cafe de Paris ladies seemed to be there as we screeched along to Voulez vous, Lay all your love on me and Dancing Queen - it was so much fun! Got up & dressed and put on our Red Band gumboots to squelch our way across to check out the earthquake wall. Built in 1964, i

Tuesday 14 September It was a wet and chilly night - as indicated by the puddles around Banjo as we packed up and left the NZMCA Hanmer Bridge mid-morning (accidentally forgetting to pay as we both thought the other had done that! Chased up and paid a week later- oops!). Per the forecast, the winds had dropped, making for a much safer journey through the Lewis Pass to the Marble Hill DOC camp near Springs Junction. The road was pretty stunning and as we headed westward the d

Monday 13 October It’s not easy getting my step count on a travel day - so set off at about 7.45am to wander through Sovereign Palms down to the lake. Lovely mild morning under light cloud - lots of birds and flora around, so a great start to the day. Packed up Banjo and had a catch up with John, our lovely POP host at Treehouse Retreat. Hit the road at 10.30 and went north towards the Waipara wine district before turning inland towards the Lewis Pass. The plan was to get to

Sunday 12 October Back to life, back to reality - big trip to the Liquid Laundromat for me (our linen change weekend and helping out E&J as their bore water colours all their light washing a grubby rusty shade). I had a wander round Kaiapoi while the washing machines were churning and was shocked at the amount of water in the Waimakariri River which had burst its banks. The rain upstream in the mountains had clearly been pretty intense. Louis went on a bit of a wild goose

Saturday 11 October Happy Birthday Party Day to Josh on the hottest day of the year so far! We were up and over to help out early (a little later than planned after a fruitless search for red fondant icing) then everyone started arriving around 10ish for a fun day of board games and BBQ. I was on kitchen duty and Louis took charge of the BBQ - where he was talked at by Arthur for an hour or two... that kid sure can talk!!! Flip7 was my favourite game and I came a close secon

Friday 10 October Chores day today in CHC - began with trading in the trusty Pajero for a scallywag electric blue Subaru while we got the 6 monthly service sorted. Louis went and swam 2km at the Graham Condon Pool in Papanui while I got my blood test done (eventually) at Awanui Labs (all good, my white cell count is back where it should be) then went to Kmart & discovered The Outlet where I upgraded my Converse for the summer for a mere $69! The Outlet is a new store which i

Thursday 9 October After watching the super moon rise, I set my alarm for 6.30am so we could check out the morning’s sunrise. The moon was still visible in a perfect pastel sky, over the far side of the bay. The pinks and peaches and lilac undertones of the sky at this hour were absolutely stunning. Louis and I walked over to the wee bay just round the corner and watched as the sea, sky & clouds oscillated through a kaleidoscope of rainbow colours. Back in July, this beach

Wednesday 8 October Our onward destination was not bookable so we got our arses in gear and packed up Banjo in good time, said farewell to Yamille (Luke was already at work) then hit the highway out to the coast and down to Kaikoura. Obligatory stop at Kekerengu (where we plan to stay one day) then on along the stunning coastline to Waipapa Point for the seals then onwards to Kaikōura and the Pier Hotel. Kekerengu Store is always a perfect pit stop - the cabinet is laden with

Tuesday 7 October So peaceful on the vineyard, the silence wakened me just after 7am, and I peeped out the window to see a glorious golden landscape surrounding us. The wind was forecast to increase again through the day so we set up the bikes and took off in a big loop round the vineyards - out to Nautilus, up to Renwick then back along Jacksons & Rapaura, passing many old favourites from our January sojourn along the way - Cloudy Bay, Allan Scott, Moa Brewery & Roots Gin Sh

Monday 6 October Wellington continued to be a tad grey & windy and we had time to kill as our ferry got pushed back from lunchtime to mid afternoon so we drove down to check out Plimmerton - had a walk along Sunset Parade beside the sea and popped into a Sallies Op Shop. Louis grabbed a coffee and ferry supplies at the Urban Bakehouse next to the NZMCA and we caught up on some travel admin before hitching up & heading into town to the Bluebridge Ferry Terminal. Queued up for

Sunday 5 October Gosh - what a busy Sunday in Welly! We hit SH1 down to the kiwi capital in typically wet & windy weather… bringing the 12*C high down to a “feels like 6*C” which was a shock to the system! First stop was at the water's edge for the Harbourside Market and a wander along the waterfront, meeting heaps of dogs along the way. Some fun food stalls, but the highlight for me was the fruit & veggie section which rivalled the markets of the Perigeux region we visited i

Saturday 4 October The rain had been dialled back a bit overnight and there was even a golden glow across the landscape as we got up & moving. I took a morning stroll around the property to get my Fitbit steps & Louis got the bikes down and we set off to cycle into Whanganui to visit the weekend market. Kelly ran a dog training school, kennels and doggy daycare until recently and her three special pups were immortalised on the big shed in the yard. Sadly we had gone about 8