adventure – Page 2 – Away From Home NZ

Amberley and Christchurch

April 14, 2025 by awayfromhomenz

It was with great reluctance that we left Kaikoura to head south towards Christchurch. We were due to meet up with my cousin Sharon, and her husband Chris, on Wednesday, so we decided to stay in Amberley on Tuesday.

Amberley Beach is a short drive out from the town centre, and even though we had been there before, we decided to go again. Time has not been kind to this area. Firstly, it is evident that erosion has been a significant problem. We could see where huge shingle barriers had been built to try and keep the sea at bay. The beach is steep shingle so not easy to walk on. It didn’t take us long to decide to walk along the sea wall instead.

The other thing we noticed was the very poor standard of housing, including some living fulltime in their vehicles in the camp ground. We did not feel comfortable being out of sight of the motorhome.

We drove out to the golf course, and it looked like the sea had washed part of this access road away, and what was a narrow tar sealed road is not a very rough shingle stop bank. Here there is a bit of an estuary which has a pleasant walk around it, and we did a bit of that before driving back into town.

We decided to stay at a Park over Property for the night called Hannah’s Haven and it was charming.

The property is not far back from the main road, but you wouldn’t know it – it was very quiet. The man who owns it was a civil engineer who came to the area to work after the earthquake. It was supposed to be a temporary move but became permanent. His wife is a keen gardener and told me that they have a little micro-climate there. They are usually 2-3 degrees warmer than Christchurch, and see only 3-4 frosts a year. Her roses are still blooming when she goes to prune them in July.

The next day we headed into Christchurch. We had a bit of running around to do before heading to Sharon’s, and we did what we could before driving in Sharon’s gate – which requires precision driving!. Uncle Ron also came to dinner and it was nice to see him again too. Unfortunately, his memory isn’t improving, but he is still managing to live at home on his own, and he is pleasant company. On both nights, Sharon and Chris presented us with gourmet meals and their hospitality is boundless.

I spent the next day working from the motorhome, taking advantage of their broadband. I seem to have acquired an email marketing job which still needs to be plugged away at while we are away.

Friday was our last day in Christchurch, and we navigated the city centre to go to Ravenscar House and gallery, as recommended by my friend Jenny. The huge house was built from rubble from the previous house which had to be destroyed after the earthquake. There are a lot of original artworks and antiquities in the house including 3 Goldy paintings, several Frances Hodgkins and several Colin McCahon, and a couple from Rita Angus – all pioneer artists of New Zealand. Bruce, being the lovely man that he is, commented that my art was better than many of the paintings we saw!

We spent one more night in Christchurch before heading in the direction of Arthur’s Pass.

Mt Terako

April 5, 2025 by awayfromhomenz

It was a cloudy day, but not raining, when we left Kaikoura, headed inland towards Mt Terako. We stopped just outside of Kaikoura for a coffee and to give the dogs a good walk before the drive inland.

The area we were driving in to is called the Inland Kaikoura Range. The road was predictably, windy and seemed to go up hill forever, and I was glad it was Bruce’s driving day. Before we got to the steep stuff though, we were treated to beautiful hill country farm views. Some of the farm houses out here were quite substantial as I guess they had to be because they would be cut off by snow in the winter. Some of the houses were absolute showpieces.

We even came across the TUX dog trials which we stopped to watch for a minute.

As we got further inland the landscape was notable for its very steep drops down to gravelly rivers, and erosion was evident everywhere, especially on Mt Terako itself.

It seems that the “Roar” was in progress because we came across a large deer enclosure that seemed to be full of “bulls” who had recently had their antlers removed. It didn’t stop them roaring to each other though. The dogs weren’t at all sure what to make of the noise.

We finally got to the Mt Lyford Lodge, which is the second largest log house in the southern hemisphere. We thought we might stay there a night, but it didn’t suit them as they had been without electricity all day. We were joined in the carpark by a fellow group of travellers, some of whom had also come from Beach Hop. They had really fancy cars – corvettes and AC Cobras, but because of the electricity issue, they also decided to move on.

Just down the road, about 8 kilometres on, was the Terako Downs Park Over Property, and we pulled in there for the night. The place was quirky to say the least but the birdsong was out of this world. I thought I had been spoilt at home when I had a chorus of 2 bellbirds, but it could not compare to a whole hillside of them, plus some tuis adding some harmony. It made me remember the song that my sister and I used to sing when we were younger _ so ring your bell bellbirds you’re calling me back home, to my home up in the mountains, no more I will roam, for there will be contentment, and my heart will be at ease, at home up in the mountains, close on the mountain breeze. (Hope I have remembered it correctly)

The camp had a little foxy, that Beau was quite friendly with, but little did Beau know that while he wasn’t watching, the foxy stole his bone!. The camp also bordered on the Wandle River, and supposedly, there was a swimming hole, and as it was a hot day we had to go and investigate. No swimming hole could be found, but Bruce had a great time trying to build rock fjords (and getting his feet wet) trying to get to the other side. It was just as well he didn’t because a short time later, some of the young men staying at the camp went across to the paddock on the other side to test their rifle sights, as they planned to head out for a four day deer hunt tomorrow. The very loud shots had Hunter in his customary state of shivery, shaky, panting mess but fortunately it wasn’t prolonged and peace was restored not long after.

Farewell North Island

April 4, 2025 by awayfromhomenz

We had a very early start to catch the ferry – alarms set for 5am which was a bit hard for Bruce, who is only a morning person when there is fishing involved. Nothing happens in our house though, without that first cup of tea, so we indulged in that and then took the boys out in the dark to have a pee. Once they had obliged, we were off – and we were not the only ones!

Predictably, the traffic into Wellington was light and we were greeted with the most beautiful pink sky when we arrived at the wharf – just like a pink carpet.

Bluebridge have a very slick operation and it wasn’t long before we were driving on to the Connemara.

This time we opted for a dog friendly cabin, and I was impressed with this also. We were individually greeted by a staff member who gave us a little pack including a dog bowl, some dog treats and a couple of bags. Hunter and Beau weren’t sure what to make of it at first but soon settled down to have a sleep on the bunk beds – actually pretty stress free for them. They had to navigate some steep metal steps there and back, but they handled it well – not like a black lab cross who had to be carried by its owner.

We were intending to catch up with my cousin Dee (and David), who live at Mapua, but unfortunately that was not to be – they were heading away on holiday themselves, so we decided to head straight for Kaikoura to try and avoid the worst of the weather. That proved to be a good move.

Kaikoura

This has always been one of my favourite places to visit, and the truck always veers left when we get to the seal colony. There were lots of babies this time, and Hunter and Beau were pretty keen on them. It was such a delight watching them frolic in their “training” pools.

We booked in to the NZMCA Park for three nights, to ride out the weather, which was not bad at all really. There were a few showers here and there but we were able to go for several walks and explore this rugged coastline. It is amazing how much of the sea bed was thrust upwards in just a 2 minute earthquake.

The wild life is diverse here. The area is known for dolphins, whales and all sorts of bird life. We came across a few Spoonbills on our walk which I had not seen here before.

Last night we went into town to celebrate our 26th wedding anniversary – we both remembered this time. The blue cod was divine!

Tomorrow, we head off to the alpine area of Mount Lyford for at least one night.

Judy’s 70th Celebrations

March 13, 2025 by awayfromhomenz

I am sure that no-one likes to admit that they are getting older, but I figured if I had to turn 70, I would do it with enthusiasm and style. I actually turned 70 on the Tuesday and was given breakfast in bed by my man, given cuddles by my dogs, and then we set off for an adventure.

Otara Bay

We had been told about Otara Bay by Bruce’s daughter and her partner Justin, so we decided to go and have a look for ourselves. Access to this beach is off Sailor’s Grave Beach and it was an easy drive to the parking lot there. We donned our tramping shoes and grabbed the camera and some drinking water and set off.

The path was not well maintained like the ones on Shakespear Cliff and at times we were pushing through grass higher than ourselves

The first view of the bay was beautiful, and worth all the huffing and puffing up the steep incline.

We were all alone on this beach. There were the occasional footprints on the beach, but they were clearly from a while ago as the waves had obliterated some of them.

It wasn’t until we were here that Bruce told me that this was supposed to be a great swimming beach. Well, we did not have our swimsuits, and as we were the only ones there, there was a logical solution – skinny dipping. I was a skinny dipping virgin so what better day to try it out than on my 70th!

After a bit of relaxing and drying off, we hiked back to the car (more huffing and puffing) and headed into Tairua for a late lunch.

Bruce spoiled me with a lovely dinner that night, and I had a lot of phone calls from family and friends to round out the day, and then to start thinking about the big party on Saturday which was being put on by my youngest son Steven and his wife Stacey.

We packed up the motorhome and headed off to Hamilton on Friday. We wanted to arrive in plenty of time to help Steve with the set up, and also because my three siblings were coming over for it, so it was a good time to finally interring Dad’s ashes. Dad’s only remaining sister Phyl and her husband Ross were there also which made it a bit more special.

While we were there we also went and said hello to Mum.

Unfortunately, the weather was showery for a lot of the day so there was a lot of work setting up the marquee for the party, but it somehow made for a nice atmosphere at the party. There were about 40 of us, plus children, but Steve’s place was an ideal venue, and we did not feel cramped.

It was so lovely being surrounded by friends and family. Three out of my four children were there.