Clive & Melanie Morris - Narrowboat Folkies

February 11th 2011 – We left the campsite in Waikawa Bay after breakfast and headed for Picton and the road to Nelson.  We had decided to take the scenic route – well why wouldn’t you!  We hadn’t been travelling more than a few minutes when I spotted something and asked Clive to stop so I could go and take a photograph.  During all our travels through North Island we have seen many big trucks carrying logs, most of them were towing a trailer as well....

Saturday Feburary 5th – we were up at 7.00am! We had to be at the Vector Arena in Auckland by 10.00am to see the amazing horseshow, El Caballo Blanco – The Dance of the White Stallions.  My camera was well charged and packed in my handbag but before we set off I went on line to check on the rules and regulations for the show to see if we could take a packed lunch with us – the answer was No!  However much to my horror it also stated that no photography was allowed ...

When we woke up the next morning we were very disappointed indeed as it was drizzling and there was a lot of low cloud, obviously we were not going to see Mt Taranaki yet again! We had breakfast and packed everything away then headed back into Wanganui to do a bit of shopping.  We were actually looking for a Whitcoulls, New Zealand’s answer to Borders or Waterstones.  Clive and I had both received a Whitcoulls gift card from Ann at Christmas and wanted the opportunity to ...

23rd January 2011 – The weather didn’t improve at all today! In fact if anything it got worse! The rain continued to lash the campsite and then, as if that wasn’t bad enough, the wind got up as well! Fortunately all the standing water around the campsite gradually soaked into the ground and the puddles finally disappeared. At least that meant we could go to the loo without being ankle deep in water!!  So very sensibly we decided to stay for another day!

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17th Jan 2011 – Hourhora Heads

When we woke up in the morning it was extremely overcast and drizzly and the hills were all shrouded in mist, it was like being in Scotland!  We decided to stay another day and relax for a bit.  Clive isn’t used to driving for hours every day anymore and the van, being extremely old, doesn’t have power steering! Also the driving position is very upright with short leg space so it’s a bit like driving a bus rea...

Wednesday January 12th

We reluctantly left our spectacular view behind at Ruakaka and headed off on the next leg of our journey to Whangerei.  It wasn’t a very long journey and only took us about an hour.  We managed to find a one hour parking spot in town, locked up the van and headed off to search for a Vodafone shop.  It wasn’t long before we found one – there seems to be at least one in every town here!  After a quick chat with the ...

Wednesday January 5th 2011 – Ness Valley - Lindsey had suggested that we go for a bush walk in the hills above Clevedon so after lunch we donned our walking boots and drove into Clevedon village and parked the van then headed for the hills!  We had an absolutely amazing time walking up through the native bush with our expert guide, Lindsey, pointing out the various trees and plants to us.  We were surrounded by birdsong and it was very tantalising catching a glimpse every now ...

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone! Here's to a happy, prosperous and healthy 2011 to one and all!

So, what's been happening since the last blog?  Well after I had posted it on 27th  December Lindsey, Clive and I headed off to Auckland's Botanic Gardens with Radar and Phillipa's lovely dog, Saffy.  We had a wonderful day exploring the gardens and seeing all the wonderful plants that grow there, it was a lovely experience. Fortunately it was a little overcast initially so...

Well, what an awesome Christmas we've had! Its been very different indeed to what we have always been used to at home but equally enjoyable.  It all kicked off with Lindsey and I going shopping to a local farmer's market for all the fruit and veggies that we needed to cater for six of us over the festive period.  That in itself was quite an experience, it was wonderful seeing all the local produce.  We managed to get everything we needed, with one exception!  As mentioned ...

Well another week has passed by.  It was the pub quiz again last Wednesday and this time it was a bit special, it was the Christmas Quiz!  Everybody dresses up for this one and so we put in a bit of an effort (not too much!) and aimed to make our team's table the most Christmassy one.  We bought a little tree and decked it all in gold baubles, stars, drums and prezzies etc and it looked very cute.  We also had a collection of headgear, namely reindeer antlers, santa hats, ...