Waiting for the Weather

We have been promised yet another Polar Blast, but an even more severe version than what we experienced a couple of weeks ago.  A fierce blizzard is to smash its way up the country, bringing atrocious weather, and was described on the TV weather report today as “an army of fronts marching up the country”.  We can expect sleet and  snow by Sunday evening, with heavy snow fall on the Rimutaka Ranges, Hutt Valley and Wellington hilltop suburbs. Emergency services are bracing for chaos and possible power failures, and widespread road closures are expected to disrupt thousands of motorists. Huge waves are likely to pound Wellington's south coast and ambulance authorities are warning the elderly and very young to stay indoors and watch for signs of hypothermia. "This is not just a cold snap coming up, it's a major winter storm," MetService spokesman Bob McDavitt said.

While we are waiting for this storm, it was reasonably mild for a mid winter’s day today.  We listened to the song of a tui as it sung high on the bare branches of a neighbour’s tree, silhouetted against the leaden sky.  You can just make out the tuft of white feathers at his throat.  Tuis were known as “Parson Birds” by the early European settlers.

Tui perched up high

Then a few moments later, he was joined by another.  His mate, perhaps?  Wouldn’t it be nice if they nest close by. 

Meanwhile, we are tucked up safe and sound at home.  We will just have to wait and see what the weather is like in the morning.  It will be a good day to stay indoors keeping warm, by all accounts. 

It’s a cold grey day today

After a mild start to the week, although still dry, it is a cold grey sort of winter’s day.  Not much wind at all, just one of those still  days when you really seem to feel the cold.  The large trees planted on the berm up and down our street have long lost all their leaves and their bare branches show up well against the leaden grey sky.  Our New Zealand native trees do not lose their leaves in Winter, so there is still plenty of greenery around. 

Tall leafless trees down our street

Workmen are replacing the telephone cables at the corner, one house along from us.  This green circuit box is being replaced with a bigger version.

This box is going

Robin was out chatting with the workmen yesterday and they told him that are installing fibre optic cable from the telephone exchange to the new cabinet. Hopefully this will give high speed broadband.

The new cabinet is much bigger

As the week progresses, the weather will get worse, we have been promised, with rain expected for the weekend.  Oh well, it is winter after all, and we have been spoilt with fairly mild weather, for the most part this winter.  Roll on Spring and Summer, we say.

A little bit of Scotland in Masterton

It was a lovely day for a trip over the Rimutaka Hill to the Wairarapa.  The earthworks were coming along quite well on the hill road, with heavy machinery still very much in evidence.  We were carefully shepherded over a couple of newly completed sections of the road, but there is still quite a bit of work to do before this big engineering job is completed. 

Ongoing work on the Rimutaka Hill road

The reason for our trip today was to check out and make bookings at a couple of motor camps for our caravan club rally schedule.  But as we found out, things often don’t go to plan, and we had to return to one camp twice before we had everything organised.  We noticed lots of new lambs in a paddock as we were driving around, including several sets of twins.  Surely it can’t be Spring already?

  Mum and her twins

We came across a little bit of Scotland on State Highway 2, just north of Masterton, “Wee Red Barn” had been featured on the programme “Country Calendar” on TV recently.  Alan (Scottish) and his wife Dot (Kiwi) came over from Scotland to run their fruit growing business in Opaki, Masterton.  The resident goat looked quite comfy as he relaxed in the sunshine on top of his house.

  The welcoming committee

The Wee Red Barn

The Wee Red Barn sells berries grown on the property, make their own wine and jam, and also sell locally sourced veggies, fruit, and olive oil.  We bought a jar each of strawberry and blackberry jam, lovingly made by Dot, which is sure to go nicely on our breakfast toast, and  a butternut pumpkin to turn into soup.  For those Kiwis with a Scottish connection, there is a large range of Scottish themed items for sale.  Alan showed us around the back of the property and explained how he likes to grow his strawberries up off the ground at shoulder height, to allow for easier access and harvesting. 

Alan with his innovative elevated strawberry beds

I just adore pigs, and was thrilled to see lots of little pink piglets running around with their big black Mother pig watching carefully over them.  Aren’t pigs just the nicest animals?  By the look of their dusty little faces and legs, the piglets have been having a fine old time rolling around in the dirt.   

Here, piggy, piggy

Heading back to Masterton for lunch, we spotted a sign that gladdened the Scottish part of my heart, a 2 for 1 lunch deal - just the thing for a couple of poor old pensioners!

So we went inside the Aberdeen Cafe and Bar to peruse the menu.  This grand building started life as a Masonic Lodge.  My choice was a dish of delicious baked stuffed locally grown Parkvale mushrooms served in a creamy sauce, and Robin enjoyed a large plate of pork spare ribs.  (We had intended to call in to Parkvale Mushrooms Ltd in Carterton to buy some of their mushrooms to take home, but ran out of time.  Perhaps next time we are over this way we will get there.)  Our lunch was a  great finish to our day out over the hill.

Aberdeen Cafe and Bar, Masterton

From Sunshine to Hail

Sunday’s temperatures were slightly warmer than the previous day while we were staying at Kapiti Holiday Resort, so we chose a spot sheltered from the wind to have our morning tea.  But it is mid winter, after all, so we can expect cooler temperatures at this time of year.  Muffy spotted one of the resident cats and they started eyeing each other up.  The other cat didn’t think too much of the interloper in her territory and was hissing at Muffy under cover from her owner’s car.  Muffy was quite intrigued and was keeping a watchful eye on this bad mannered feline.  We were watching carefully too, and ready to pull on her lead to get her to safety in case the other cat attacked.

I’m watching you

There was a special award made at morning tea, being Don and Pamela’s 200th rally.  Robin as President did the honours and presented them with their rally badges.  They knew the award was coming up soon, but were unsure of exactly when.  Congratulations to you both, and may you attend many more rallies with the club.

Don, Pamela, and Robin

Being such a pleasant day, we all decided to have an early lunch at the camp before setting off for home.  It didn’t take too long to pack up, and after an easy drive, we arrived safely home.  Robin had bought a new Trojan towing mirror, and it certainly proved it’s worth when he backed the caravan into position at home.  The old mirror must have had a blind spot, but with the new one he could see every step of the way while he was backing the caravan into position in front of the house.

Robin using his new towing mirror

We unpacked the caravan and put the kettle on before going back out to clean the fridge and bathroom areas.  Then the temperature dropped dramatically and a hail storm passed by.  We’re certainly not venturing out in that, we decided, we will finish the caravan cleaning tomorrow!  And then the rain came down, and washed the hail away.  Just as well we were safely home and dry inside.

Hail in the back yard

That’s my sun lounger, not a hail catcher

One of our readers put a comment on the previous blog inquiring about how our new caravan springs are performing.  Well I can report that they were an improvement on what was installed previously.  I think on reflection that there may have been something wrong for a while as the caravan tracked behind the Landcruiser better than it has for some time.  The replacement springs were up rated from the original set which makes me think that they were perhaps a bit light for the van.  The caravan manufacturer considered the breakage was a manufacturing fault so replaced them free of charge for the parts, all I’ve had to pay for was the labour of fitting.  I thank Wayne at Leisureline Caravans Ltd and Paul at Four Seasons Caravans Ltd for their prompt and efficient service.

Weekend at Kapiti Coast

A drive of 60kms on Friday took us to our destination for the weekend Caravan Club rally, up to Paraparaumu on the Kapiti Coast.  We were staying at the rather grandly named Kapiti Holiday Resort, which caters mainly for long term permanent tenants.  There are a small number of sites available for casual travellers, or small weekend groups like our caravan club.

Entrance to Kapiti Holiday Resort

Each site has separate facilities attached – a basic small shed with a toilet and shower.  The separate bays are sheltered by extremely dense macrocapa hedges.  Down the end of the camp there is also a small communal kitchen and laundry available for residents.

Our site with our own ablution block

The weekend weather was fine but very cold and windy. On Friday afternoon  three of us decided to get a little exercise and take a walk along the beach, suitably garbed against the cold wind in our jackets and woolly hats.  The beach was just across the road from the camp, and a brisk walk would be just the thing to chase the cobwebs away.

Bill and Robin ready for a walk along the beach

An Aloe Vera plant (I think) on the path to the beach

We walked through the sand dunes down to the beach, and Kapiti Island lay straight ahead.  Once the stronghold of feared Maori warrior Te Rauparaha in the 1800s, the island was also home to visiting whalers. They established themselves on Kapiti and the three islets where they set up seven whaling stations. By about 1846 whaling was no longer profitable and the whalers moved away, leaving behind several large whaling pots.  These days Kapiti Island is a bird sanctuary and visitors can enjoy day trips and learn about the fascinating history of this island from the wardens.   

Kapiti Island in the sunshine

Houses with a glorious sea view looked out at the island, but we wondered how safe they were so close to the beach with the heavy seas continually eroding the coast line.  They might well have a nice view, but these houses would be well out of our price range, we decided.

Sea front properties

A trip to Lindale Farm Kitchen was proposed for afternoon tea on Saturday.  As to be expected, all the womenfolk thought this was a great idea, after all, what could be nicer that a latte or cappuccino?  Accordingly, we pooled cars and travelled a couple of miles down the road.  Just as well that I wasn’t driving as I was sure that to get to our destination we should be turning right and not left onto State Highway One.  “That’s why I’m the driver and you are the passenger”, Robin told me firmly.  I’m the first to admit that I sometimes have trouble with navigation!

We all enjoyed our afternoon tea

Saturday evening saw the keen rugby supporters in our club go down to the Kapiti Club for a meal and to watch the game on the big screen TV.  This important game in the Tri Nations series was between arch rivals New Zealand All Blacks and Australian Wallabies, and yes, we were victorious. Thank goodness for that, or the men would be in mourning!

Our girl Muffy

Our beautiful Birman Muffy seems to be feeling the cold this winter.  On these cold mornings we often see her sitting as close as she can get to the Night-store Heater in the hallway.  If she got any closer she would burn her nose!  This type of heater uses slightly cheaper off peak power to heat the  bricks inside, and then the heat is released during the day .

Muffy in the hallway

It was time for her annual check up and vaccinations so we made an appointment and took her to the vet.  I mentioned that I felt Muffy had slowed down a lot recently, but thank goodness she was declared quite fit and well, and her joints seem to be free of arthritis and she moves  well.  We were reminded that she is in fact an elderly cat at 15 years old and that is probably why she is a little slower these days.  Muffy spends a lot more time curled up on one or other of our laps these winter evenings and loves to keep close by.  I think she just needs to know that her humans are near and ready to answer to her every request.  So she will continue to sleep on our bed and come away in the caravan with us when we go tripping away. 

It doesn’t seem that long when she first came into our lives as a little fluffy kitten.  She is a Sealpoint Birman with a pedigree name of “Acalypha Mufasa”, her sire was “Leegrgo Lord Apollo” and her mother was “Leegrgo Casper”.  Way back in 1997 when she was only 6 months old we entered Muffy in her first (and last) cat show, not just any old cat show, but the National Cat Show.  Muffy was shampooed, blow dried, brushed, combed and generally fussed over, to make her debut at the show.  First came a vet check to ensure that the cats were healthy, and a little yellow sticker to this fact was added to her cage number.  Then at last the judge came and picked Muffy up, gave her a good going over, and she was then returned to her cage.  I was flabbergasted that our little princess was not placed at all!  How could that be?  After our disappointment we wandered around to check out the other cats.  Muffy’s father was at the show too, and I carefully carried Muffy over to make his acquaintance, after all, no-one should have to go through life not knowing who their father is, should they?  Apollo was a very handsome fellow but he was dozing the afternoon away and not at all interested in one of his many offspring.  We returned her to the cage and went to watch the Best of Show awards.  Although Muffy wasn’t placed at all, she could bask in some reflected glory.  The Supreme Longhair Best in Show was her half brother! Good old Dad Apollo, he certainly sired a winner there!

Muffy now comes away in the caravan with us, and is getting to be a much travelled cat.  With her harness and light lead, she is safely tethered in case she takes fright and tries to run away.  She has settled down to caravan life very well and is quite content to curl up inside the caravan and snooze the day away.  All our caravan training has paid off and next year we plan to take her on our South Island Odyssey for several months, we are sure that she will take this in her stride.

On the caravan bed

If it’s open, she’s checking it out

From Otaki to Oranges and Sunshine

It was a lovely day for a drive up to Otaki.  The last of the snowfall was fast disappearing from the Tararua Ranges.

Not much snow on the Tararua Ranges now

There was quite an audience while we had stopped on the side of the road to take photos.  The young calves were very interested in what we were doing.  By the time we got back into the car, the whole herd had gathered to check us out.

What’s going on?We want to see too

All our SLG friends met at Jan and John’s home for morning tea and our Annual Draw.  Our Super Leisure Group is a group of friends from way back.  About 20 years ago we decided that the best way to ensure that our busy lives don’t get in the way of us getting together regularly was to ensure that we plan monthly outings.  Hence our SLG was born, and each year we get together to draw a month out of the hat for the following year.  That particular  month is your month to plan an outing for the whole group, and can be whatever you want.  In our early days we used to do a lot of bush walks, climbing hills and that sort of thing, but we are a little more sedate these days.  With this business out of the way, we travelled back down to Waikanae for lunch.  Roast lamb was on the menu and most of us chose that.  With the price of a leg of lamb on the domestic market so high it is a luxury item these days, we were all looking forward to our meal. Sadly, our lamb was rather chewy and not as tender as it should have been, so that was a disappointment indeed.  I noticed that I was the only one of our group who told the staff that I was disappointed in my lunch.

Waiting for our roast lamb

John had arranged a trip to the movies after lunch.  We saw the film “Oranges and Sunshine” which told the true but hidden story of the deportation of over 120,000 British children to Australia during and after WW11.  These children were separated from their families, many were told that their parents had died and they were shipped off to the promise of oranges and sunshine.  On arrival the children’s hopes of a happy life were dashed as many were treated as slave labour by the Christian Brothers they were entrusted to, and suffered lives of violence and abuse.  On hearing these stories, social worker Margaret Humphries from Nottingham travelled to Australia to find the truth, and after working tirelessly the unbelievable story was finally exposed in Britain and worldwide in the late 1980s.  This gritty film certainly moved our group, and had me dabbing my eyes throughout.  I wasn’t the only one to emerge with pink eyes after the performance.