Hello people, it’s been a long time since our last post and we have done so much since then that it will be a difficult job trying to catchup and post everything… it’s just laziness on our behalf. So as from this post and onward we will be posting regularly on our webpage. Yes now and then I will post bits and pieces of what we have previously done between the silent period and will put the date at the start such posts. Jude and I have been living fulltime in Aotearoamer for nine year now and we a have discovered that the quality ofRead More →

Jude and I (well Jude anyway) decided to walk a section of the Long Hilly Walking Track located in the Longwood Forest at the base of the Longwood Range in Southland, the Long Hilly Walking Track, also known as the, the Round Hill Walking Track, is a glimpse into New Zealand’s goldmining history. The short, easy rainforest loop walk takes you along paths once used for gold mining, however over time it has been slowly reclaimed by native shrubs and trees. The walk is a short, easy loop of approximately 2.3 km and takes around 45 minutes at an easy pace. The track is mostly gravelled andRead More →

With time rapidly approaching for Jude’s operation we have been busy making sure we have everything we need for her rehab. But in the interim there are still bits and pieces to help out with at the cottage. Looking after the hens is enjoyable as they are busy laying eggs and are hard cases when they see you, gathering around your feet they are a trip hazard, however the eggs are awesome fresh daily. I do however every now and then one of them chookies passes a super big egg and I wonder how the hell they can pass an egg 4 times the sizeRead More →

Slept well all night and woke this morning to another fantastic day at Monkey Island, Orepuki, Southland. The weather is sunny, warm and the waves gently rolling ashore on the beach just makes you feel good. Chilled out in the morning while waiting for the tide to turn so we can do a walk along the beach to Gemstone Beach 3 kilometres along the beach. As we noticed last year, Gemstone Beach is not the beach of old where there were pebbles everywhere to search and hopefully fine that special gemstone, today it is mainly sand. For those that don’t mind a walk, heading eastRead More →

We have been back in Southland for three weeks now after a trip around the South Island hiking and biking. As per previous posts we managed to cope with the flooding in the Tasman and Golden Bay area avoiding the most serious dumps of rain. Now back in the south with reasonably good weather enjoying a good tail end of winter… so far! Before Judes op next week we have enjoyed a bit of gardening and maintenance around the cottage, my son in-laws 40th and a bit of exercising. Over the past weekend we enjoyed riding the Sandy Point Mountain Bike Trails and consider themRead More →