It’s not allowed to rain on holiday

It’s true what they say about New Zealand, you can experience all seasons in one day.  Am I allowed to complain?  It feels like the answer is no, because we are having the trip of a lifetime, right?  But to hell with it, I’m going to complain a little bit 😜.  

It’s been raining!! A lot!!  Thankfully my duct tape roof job is holding perfectly, not a single drop has come through even with the torrential rain we have experienced.  Pat on the shoulder for Kelly.  And a bottle of wine please.

We’ve done a lot of traveling since my last update.  I won’t go into a day by day update but we reached the very top of NZ last Sunday (18 Nov), Cape Reinga.  It was stunning and actually quite magical.  There is an 800 year old tree that hides the entrance to the mythical Mauri underground…we didn’t go down there 😳 but we took some beautiful photos and were enjoying the stunning views of the Tasman sea joining the Pacific ocean, when suddenly we noticed a fast moving rain cloud moving towards us from the Tasman sea…..click click click more last minute photos then a very fast walk/run back to the car (we got wet).

Oh and on the way up to Cape Reinga we stopped off at the amazing Te Paki sand dunes, huuuuuge sand dunes where you could surf down if you had enough skill and the right surf board.  Which by the way we didn’t have either, but I’m not allowed to share that particular video of TJ trying to sand surf 😂😂😂

On the way back southbound we stayed in some lovely campsites, each with their own great selling point.  All with fantastic views and very friendly hosts, everywhere we have been we have been made most welcome, and often getting discounted camp rates as it is currently low season (summer starts in December).  What is quite amusing is saying hello to the other travelers. Most of them give you the “oh sh*t they are talking to me” kind of shocked look and say “oh, hello” back…different foreigners have different reactions, but I have to say all the Aussies and Kiwis are awesome 😎 (bloody unsociable Europeans).

Although the weather has been pretty much wet wet wet for the last week, there have been some fabulous moments/hours where the sun comes out and it’s bloody hot again and the kids are back in the sea or in the swimming pool.  Like I said, all seasons in one day.

We are now South of Auckland and stopped off last night in Cambridge at the stables of Max and Sam.  Max is Nicky’s farrier who we were introduced to last week and they very kindly let is camp out at their place for the night.  Wow, what a place, right in the middle of horsey countryside full of thoroughbred race horses and race tracks.  Sam and Max have a beautiful huge place for their 20+ show jumpers, we are looking forward to going to watch her compete next weekend.  

Tonight we are staying at a lovely cafe/park/petrol station with free camping (winner!!!) out towards the West coast again,in a place called Oparau. We are getting used to searching out the gems like this place where we can stay and chat with the locals.

We are also learning to live on a very tight budget.  Wow we have really come to appreciate what a good life we have back home.  Both TJ and I work hard, and we earn a decent salary for our hard work.  When we went to the supermarket we could pick up whatever we wanted, I am even a bit ashamed to say we never even looked at the prices of stuff being thrown into our shopping trolley.  Treats? No problem.  Luxury bread or the best meat from the butcher?  Of course, we like to help out the local shops and have great quality meat.  But here? That’s a different story.  We shop at the cheap supermarkets, buy the $1 bread and the value products.  It’s all great food and has really opened our eyes to the value of money.  That may make us sound like snobs but it is what it is, we have a very different lifestyle here….that was our choice and the challenge we wanted to take.  It is taking some adjusting to I won’t lie…but we are still eating well and TJ can rustle up some magic with just about anything!