Good morning Mummy

Good morning Mummy, are you awake?  It was 8am when Rose came in and flopped down on my bed, all smiles.  Morning Rosie, did you sleep well? Yes Mum, shall we go riding?   I feel like I’m in a bit of a dream world…..

We arrived at the Kowhai Forge on Saturday afternoon (15th December).   The forge is part of the beautiful house/farm belonging to Rob and Arja Pinkney.  TJ has been helping out Rob shoeing some horses every now and then and Rob had asked us if we would be able to house sit for them for a few days while they go and visit some family up North.  So here we are until Thursday.  What an amazing place they have!  It is stunning.  An old sheep sheering shed that was converted 9 years ago into the dream house.   It’s a piece of art, so much thought has gone into converting the house, it is spacious, stylish and still keeping very much the country vibe.  Even though we are living in some else’s house, we felt immediately at home.  It is heaven to be able to just walk to the fridge and get a nice (cold) drink or be able to cook a lovely dinner for the family in the spacious kitchen…..a world of difference from our caravan!  Oh and the view?  Breathtaking views of the open plains, dairy farms (belonging to Rob’s family) and the stunning Sanctuary Mountain.

However, we are not alone here, we are sharing this amazing space with 4 horses, 1 dog (Tui), 1 cat (Rockstar), a pig (Novi) and a bunch of chickens.  Rose is in charge of feeding all the animals, which of course she takes very seriously 🙂

We now appreciate the luxury of having separate bedrooms and even separate rooms to sit in if you feel like having your own space, oh it’s bliss!  The kids were not keen on sleeping separately as they have been used to being able to chat to eachother in the caravan, but soon they ventured into their own rooms each with a double bed to sleep in.

The farm is in the middle of nowhere, and we love it.  The other night TJ took me outside just to listen…..complete silence, no lights for miles and just nothing….nothing at all!  We ventured into town for shopping (30 mins away) and along the way saw a sign for a “Swing Bridge” which sounded interesting so we took a detour.  It was the Arapuni Suspension Bridge, that was built over 90 years ago and spans the Waikato River above a huge power station.  It was pretty scarey walking across it, bloody high up and all I could think about was Indiana Jones.  The whole time I was thinking ok if this bridge goes I will just grab onto that plank and I will be fine.  I was also thinking if my brother (Anthony) was here he would be the one that would be jumping up and down on the bridge scaring the life out of the rest of us (yep Anthony you would wouldn’t you?!).    That’s what New Zealand is like, no not like Indiana Jones, but there are so many hidden treasures that you find along the way, mostly when you aren’t looking for them.

Yesterday we decided to take the 4 horses out for a ride.  Rob and Arja told us that they were all good/safe horses to ride, one was a young pony but the rest are fine.  So we saddled them up (well TJ decided he wanted to go bareback, each to their own!) and off we went.  TJ was on the biggest horse, me on the young palamino pony, Rose on the other smaller horse and Thijs on the shetland pony.  It was a little nerve wracking as I had visions of Rose and Thijs gallopping off into the distance but the horses were perfect.  Thijs hasn’t ridden much before, just the odd 5 minutes on Rose’s pony Nouschka but that’s it.  However his shetland pony was angelic, and before long Thijs was off the lead rein and trundling along on his own, quite often a way behind us as he only has little legs!  Rose did an amazing job with her horse, and has now decided she wants a big horse when we go home (sorry Nouschka!).  We were out for more than an hour, through the valley and fields, up and down the hills…..A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.   We all came back with big grins on our faces and the kids asking when can we go again!  So that was when Rose woke me up this morning and off we went just the 2 of us for another ride before breakfast….pretty perfect.

TJ went shoeing this morning (helping out for Rob while he is away) and it was school time for the kids, after which we ventured out to Lake Arapuni where we had seen a small beach/playground yesterday.  The sun was shining so the cozzies were on and we spent a few hours splashing around in the lake and sun bathing in the park.  There was an island a short swim out where you could jump from the rocks into the water, so me and Rose swam out there (quite far for Rose!) and had some fun jumping in from the rocks.  We’re going back there tomorrow because I forgot Thijs’ arm bands….so I’m sure he will be jumping in with us tomorrow 🙂  Life is pretty great right now 🙂

That’s it for today….I hear there is snow back home in The Netherlands which is so strange to hear/see when we are lathering on the sun cream here in Sunny New Zealand!  Only 1 week until Christmas!

Oh one more thing, in Rob’s forge there is text written on the wall that pretty much sums up what we are doing, this rings very true……

Lots of love from us…..xxxxx