Advertisement
Published: December 14th 2009
Friday, December 11th
After performing our regular cleaning duties we decided to clean all the windows in the park. The West Coast of New Zealand has these spiders that just cover everything with their webs. If you park your car for an hour you’ll have a web by the lights, another by the window and another by the mirror by the time you return. These spiders also cover any structure they find, and the buildings in the holiday park were no exception. While we cleaned the windows we also took a broom to the buildings in an attempt to clean off some webs. The whole thing was a big job, but working together we got it done by 4pm.
After a shower we spent some time reading and did some more research online. The results of our research was a bit discouraging so we opened a bottle of wine, got the Weka’s blue cheese and some crackers and sat chatting in the kitchen, trying to lighten the mood somewhat. For dinner we made a Spanish Omelette. Basically it’s just all the left-overs and last pieces of veggies thrown together with beaten eggs and milk. It took a while to cook,
but was delicious in the end. We watched two doccies then fell asleep.
Today’s highlights:
1. Cleaning the windows in the camp and getting rid of most of the spider webs.
Thought for the day:
Maybe we’re the answer to someone else’s prayer, and not the other way around. Saturday, December 12th
This morning we might have gotten the direction we’ve been praying for, so with greatly uplifted spirits we performed our cleaning duties. Weather wise, it was a very strange day indeed. It would literally pour with rain one moment and 5mins later the sun would shine, then, in the blink of an eye, it would pour with rain again. During one of these sudden downpours Ferdi was caught outside with the laptop. As he ran for cover he slipped and fell. It wasn’t one of those quick falls; he tried to stop it in various ways so it took a relatively long time for him to go down. Eventually, when gravity won, he rolled onto the gravel, shielding the laptop with his other arm. For some reason it’s always hilarious when an adult falls. It’s like falling is reserved for children or something. This was
no exception, and even though he was wet and muddy we had a good laugh about it.
Talita did some washing, but because of the weather conditions, the tumble dryer was the only way to get our clothes dry.
We wanted to replace the Boesman’s inner-sprung mattress with a foam one, because the inner-sprung mattress was just too bulky and heavy to lift when we needed to access the storage compartments beneath. The Mansells had a bunch of extra foam mattresses lying around so Talita asked Margaret if we could do a trade. Margaret agreed and we did the exchange.
Later we went to visit the Guppy’s just to see what’s new. They were leaving for Wellington the following day and we’d spend the next two or three weeks looking after their bus again. How lucky can we get? We were also charged with the duty of catching/disposing off that sneaky Bus Rat. He’d been wreaking havoc since last we’ve been here, eating the seatbelts in their van, chowing on Debs’ dresses and just being a general nuisance. So far he’d eluded Dave’s every attempt to catch him, so now it was up to us to try
and end his reign of terror.
Back at the park we had a cuppa, then drove into town. Tonight Karamea was holding their “Christmas in the Park” celebration. Because of the weather it was held in the school hall and pretty much all of Karamea was present. A Scottish marching band started the festivities, arriving with the sound of bagpipes and drums, followed by the rest of the towns people dressed in costumes. From Shrek and Fiona to Little Red Riding Hood, fairies and rag dolls. Then a feast was laid out for us. It’s a community effort where everybody “brings a plate” of food. There were rows and rows of food, so much so that there was probably enough food left over to feed the whole town a second time. After the main course a huge variety of dessert was brought out. We gorged ourselves ice-cream, pavlovas and many more tasty treats. With full bellies we went into the hall. The children were running amok, and for entertainment there was a clown and a couple of musicians. We spent most of the evening observing the people and the children, intrigued by the way this small town interacts. We
really like the small town/village vibe.
At 10pm, after singing some Christmas carols and the raffle draw, we went outside for a fireworks display. It was cold but not raining and we enjoyed the amazing show, wondering how on earth they get to make these fireworks. Ferdi missed most of the display because he was taking photographs like a madman. He didn’t mind though, because he got some real nice shots.
After the fireworks we said goodbye to the Dave, Deborah, Julian and Kyran, then headed home. On the way we nearly ran over a Hedgehog sitting in the middle of the road. We’ve seen a few dead ones on the roads, but this was our first live NZ one. We stopped to have a look, but it had already scurried off into the bush.
Today’s highlights:
1. Attending Karamea’s Christmas in the Park.
2. The fireworks show.
3. Seeing our first live NZ hedgehog.
Thought for the day:
God must shake his head in disbelieve and frustration at us some times. How easily we lose hope! How faithless we are sometimes! Sunday, December 13th
Our cleaning duties were followed by the continuation of the
spring clean. Ferdi cleaned the lounge area while Talita sorted out kitchen number two. We made a heap of pancakes for lunch, then finished with the spring clean. With that done we packed the van in preparation for our move to the Guppy place.
When we went to say goodbye to the Mansells (and take some pancakes over) they invited us for a cup of tea. They’ve really appreciated our help and we really appreciated their kindness. We asked John if we could build our canoe in his garage and he agreed. In return we agreed to help them out over their crazy busy Christmas period and work on the canoe in between. They are great people and have been fantastic to us, so we’d love to help them wherever we can.
After a nice long chat and lots of laughter we drove into town to pick up Dave’s car. He’d left it parked after the previous night’s festivities. We found the car unlocked with the key in the ignition and a few dollars lying on the dash; not something you’ll ever see back in SA. Ferdi drove it home, but it’s an insanely small car and the
Sean
This is not really his kinda thingseat couldn’t move back, so he had to do a contortionist act every time he wanted to shift gears. We made it to the bus okay and as a welcoming present the ladies gave us three eggs! We moved into the bus, cooked dinner and opened a bottle of wine.
Today’s highlights:
1. Finishing the spring clean.
2. Moving back into the bus.
Thought for the day:
If we could only learn to be content with what God has given us, we’d be well on the road to finding true peace.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.159s; Tpl: 0.019s; cc: 12; qc: 23; dbt: 0.0958s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 2;
; mem: 1.1mb
Melinda
non-member comment
Hedgehog
Darm het die een weg gekom ne!