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Well, Hello Again. After about 5 months of no blog I feel it is time to outline some big changes in our life. There have been some exciting happenings over the last half year.
But at the present time the most exciting news is that we are going to leave NZ for a few weeks to travel to Norway once again, to see our family after not being able to travel since October 2019 due to Govid. So excited to be able to catch up with Chris, Hege, Lilly and Stella in person, rather than relying on Snap Chats, Skype etc. To be able to physically hug everyone will be amazing. To be able to see how much the girls have grown since our last visit, to watch their sport, to walk in the hills, and to just be able to talk and discuss life in general with Chris, Hege and the girls, and with Hege's Mum and Dad, is something we have been hanging out for the last 19 months. We will be in Bergen for 6 weeks so will have plenty of time to make up for lost time. We leave NZ the second week of May flying
Exercising the Horses.
The happenings that we miss from our old house in Whitby. Singapore Airlines from Auckland, via Singapore, Copenhagen then on to Bergen. So looking forward to it. When we leave Bergen we are traveling to England to spend 4 weeks with Peter and Helen in Corsham in England. One of my many Happy Places. So excited about getting to walk the English country side again.
In this time I will try to put a couple of blogs out about our experiance of travel in this new era of post Govid travel that has effected the whole world and all travellers. I'm hoping that every aspect of our time away will be a real positive.
Now what has happened in the last half year.
We of course have been affected, as has everyone, by Govid. Life has changed for so many people and the sad stories and hardships for people make me realise how lucky we are that we didn't come in contact with this terrible pandemic. So lucky!
Last year we decided that it was the time in our life, {getting older} that we had to decide when we would leave our magic house overlooking the Pauhatanui inlet. Our thoughts were that with the house being a
Orcas In the Inlet.
We miss the happenings in the inlet in front of our old house. double story, hence stairs, a large garden that demanded continuing maintenance, a need to downsize, and a need to move on and try something different, we should put it on the market, sell, and make a move to Taupo to try out a lifestyle there that we had often talked about. Taupo has always been one of my Happy Places, so with the normal stress levels involved with selling and buying houses, we finally moved out of our home of 23 years and made the trip north to settle in Taupo. We have now been in Taupo since mid December and we finally moved into our house at the beginning of March. So far, so good. Everything is feeing positive and we have settled into our new place extremely well. We are looking forward to our next few years spent in a place that we have always loved. I have to admit that the fact that Taupo is a world famous trout fishing area is a real bonus for me. Magic walks and bike trails, very central to everything in the North Island and also only a 1 and 3/4 hour drive to the Hawkes Bay where Amy, Jeremy and
Our New House In Taupo.
We don't have a water view but we do have farm land.
And sheep for neighbours. the girls are. There are of course a few down sides to this move. Our Wellington friends and family are now 5 hours away so the ability to pop in for a cup of coffee or a wine has become difficult but we are hoping that with the necessity to head down to Wellington every now and again we will continue to catch up. We have also had numerous visits from friends as they have traveled to and through Taupo.
During the last few months we were in Wellington, we managed to fit in a number of interesting times.
Leaving our house and our view over the inlet was hard but we will always remember some of the magic sights we saw from our decks. Watching the Stingrays gliding into the shallows, the very occasional visit of Whales cruising by, the people on paddle boards, kayaks, boats and water skiers. Dogs being given free time to swim and chase sticks, and the horses being exercised in the water.
Last November we, along with Annemarie, Corrado, Viv and Charlie traveled down to Queenstown and toured around this amazing area of lakes, rivers mountain ranges and beautiful countryside. We
Exploring Doubtful Sound.
Spectacular views, water falls, and wild life. went by boat across Lake Manapori, magic!! then over the southern divide by bus, magic again, then down into Doubtful Sound. Boarding a boat we headed out through the sound as far as the Tasman Sea. This whole trip is so worth while and the bush and wild life along with the sea life is fantastic. An area of New Zealand that will never disappoint.
Christmas was spent in Hawkes Bay at Amy and Jeremys house along with Jeremys family. Great family time with all the kids enjoying themselves in the pool and lots of food and refreshments.
So now we are permanent residents of Taupo and loving it but our upcoming trip to Norway is building the excitment up and I just can't wait to get on the plane and get there to see the kids. Catch up soon .. Pip/Rod
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Home and Away
Bob Carlsen
Changes...
I retired at 55 so we could move away from the very hectic Washington DC area to our forever home in the Rocky Mountains. This was the best decision of out lives, but I'm not sure we could have physically done this if we put it off for another decade. There is nothing like moving to where you spent your holidays! Enjoy Norway and England with family and friends...I always enjoy following your blogs. I will be following the steps of my ancestors in Scotland and Sweden the last week of August and the first week of September...35 castles in 12 days. My wife is not joining me even though we share the same family tree from our 12th great grandparents and beyond. The schedule is just too hectic for her. She told me to take good pictures!