Crash!

We were rudely awakened from a cold induced early sleep last Saturday night by the sound of a car crashing into our garden.
No injuries amazingly.
Driver ran off leaving his large truck blocking our drive. We went out to investigate and phoned the police. We were impressed by their amazingly quick response time; and put it down to the big number in town keeping an eye on a kick-boxing match.
Meanwhile boy comes back with mate and another truck to remove the vehicle.
Police established who the driver had been. Car had landed on its wheels and and hit a fence post.
Recovery driver pulled crashed car over on its roof as he attempted to pull it back up the drive.
That was when we started taking pictures.
It all looked different on Sunday morning when boy and mates turned up to retrieve truck. They managed to do this but our fences and 2 gates were in the way so needed to be removed.
We wait for the team to come back and put right the damage.

Footage of Hornet

Whenuapai Air Show

Air Show Pictures

Whenuapai Air Show

Kia ora Koutou
Last weekend, Eric Stuart and I travelled down to Auckland on Friday night with the air cadets for the Whenuapai Air show. We had a very interesting weekend.

I had never been to an airshow before. Nor had the boys. To be honest, I wasn't really all that keen on going away for an entire weekend with a whole bunch of teenagers. But the bottom line was that if I didn't go then neither did about 5 cadets. So I did my school work by 3.15 and we met up at cadet HQ at 6pm. Eric has been going to ATC every Wednesday for over a year now. It is quite a small unit that struggles to stay viable at times as cadets and officers come and go. It has given Eric a valuable activity out of school for the last year. With regular weekend trips either out camping, or going shooting.

We arrived in Auckland at about midnight and were waved through the gates into the air-base. Couldn't see a lot as it was pitch black. Cadets debussed and were told to make sure that their uniforms were ironed before crashing out. Wake up at 5.15 am. That is a few hours before my normal wake up time on a Saturday - I thought to myself.

Up we got and had a shower that made me feel vaguely human. As a parent helper along with a couple of other blokes, I spent most of the day watching the cadets and air force go about putting on a huge public event. We had a quick breakfast and then the cadets paraded and were inspected, before marching off to the edge of the airfield. They were based in the parachute training hangar out of the sun and heat of the day. They were made up of units from Thames, Morrinsville, Kaikohe and Kaitaia and numbered over 100. Air force regulars had been drafted in from the other RNZAF base to help out, but the cadets basically ran the barricades and parking for the day. They made sure that the public stayed off the runway. Stuart and Eric did shifts of 1 1/2 hours on and 11/2hours off. It was a lot of work for such young fellas and they were looking pretty cream crackered by the end of the show at 5pm.

Meanwhile I was pretty much a free agent, getting free access to the show. I am not really a machine head at all, but the planes were interesting. Who could fail to be impressed by the huge Globemaster that supplies bases on te Antarctic and can land on a 300m runway. Or the thwack-twack of the Iroquois choppers zipping around.

My big fave was the Australian FA-18 jets called Hornets. One did a display to round off the show and the sheer noise and power and speed of the thing was awesome. It is difficult to describe in words what this aircraft was capable of doing, but it did not seem possible. I took loads of video but that does not really do it justice. With all the planes I was glad that it was a friendly airshow and not a war zone as I would have cacked myself!

Stuart got to do guard duty on the main runway at the point where the parachutists landed and he immediately attracted the attentions of a number of chatty women! Eric was stuck on car park duty for ages.

At the end of the day all the cadets were summoned to the far end of the base, the rumour being that we were going to be given a Hercules flight to thank us for our help. Instead we got to shift a couple of Km of crash barriers and to pick up litter off the entire base! All in all a good intro to life in the forces, bringing back memories of being a cadet myself, sitting around for hours waiting for orders and then being ordered (rather than asked!) to do something mindless.

We had takeaway pizza that night and the cadets all watched a film and passed out.

It felt like having a lie-in getting up at 7am on Sunday morning after the previous day. We got a full breakfast in the Mess and then use of the 25m swimming pool on the base. The group visited the War section of Auckland Museum before heading back to Kaitaia in the afternoon.

All in all a good weekend, though I have to admit that I am quite happy to have a chilled out w/e now to recover.

A&P show

Today was the annual A&P Show, held just down the road. As usual we left Friday night to the teens and the police. It is the time for settling of accounts and is keenly anticipated by those who like a bit of a scrap. None of ours showed any interest in going. We will no doubt hear all about it on Monday, and be on full alert for reprisals and the overflow of events.

We waited until 10am saturday to make our appearance. We were rostered on to do gate duty, collecting the entry fees off the visitors. It helps out teh Cadets apparently and was not particularly onerous. We had chance to go and look round as well. It seemed a little quieter than the last time I went, perhaps because it was early, perhaps because of the rain showers, and perhaps because people don't feel that they have as much spare cash for a day out.

Stuart enjoyed a go on the dodgems, paddy got himself an icecream and I am not sure what Eric was doing, but he came back smiling!

We are getting into the groove of working and schooling and doing our weekly activities. Paddy is running in the atletics club this year. He is taking part in some event in whangarei apparently. He ran 4km last week in the training. Stuart and Eric go to cadets every Wednesday night. They are looking forward to a trp to Whenuapi Air festival in a few weeks time.

Chantelle is getting used tostudying and reading lots of books. She is passing the papers that she has submitted so far.

The farm ticks over. We have just 4 sheep left, 2 lambs and an old ewe and the PI ram. I am trying to sell them so that we can plant the fields up with fruit. I spent a few hours today hammering into gorse and pampas regrowth. It is the time of year when the pampas flowers. There is a lot less than there was, but the battle is not yet won. Eric and I( have just been planting out some chinese cabbage and setting a trap for a family of rats that are burrowing into the offal pit. Eric will be busy tomorrow as he is going to despatch a young cockerel and then he will be dealing with any trapped rats as well. He and Stuart can pretty much sort out sheep, hens and rats with no need of my assistance. I shall be enjoying a lie-in!

Summer veg

Just posted up a whole load of pictures from the end of the holidays.
It has been wet this week and those long hot summer days seem distant.
In this section is the garden as it has been this summer. The best ever! The constant application of manure and mulch is starting to pay off as the clay mutates into a workable tilth. The pic shows one of the daily harvests of beans corn and eggs, plus the strawbs. They have been awesome this year. So many that we have been able to make a few pots of jam. Stuart and Patrick are constantly working out new ways of stretching their wages. Stuart had a go at selling some old marrows on a roadside stall, without success. I am encouraging paddy to help establish a new strawberry bed and offered to go 50/50 on te profits. He is a cheeky little fella and came back with "how about 60/40?" He seems to inherited some business sense from somewhere. Must have skipped a generation.

Memories of the long hot summer

Pictures from the summer

Pictures from Bush camp

End of week 1

We made it through the first full week. All chilling out in our own different ways: Eric on flight simulator, Stuart having a back rub, Paddy playing with Lego whilst plotting which friend he can escape to this w/e, me with earphones in and George on the net, Chantelle has a hotty and the tv on.
We had a good w/e last. After the half ar*ed start to the year, Friday was Waitangi day so we were all off for a 3 day w/e. Thursday night was staff picnic at the Victoria Valley waterhole. Irene, Lee and girls said they would camp so we took our tarp as well. The bbq was good, the kids were happy in the river cooling off. The adults were happy having a long drink and keeping an eye on the kids in a beautiful environment. We crashed out early, slept badly and awoke to the cicadas at dawn. Worth it for the morning swim and the breakfast cooked over the fire - home grown bacon and eggy bread from Lee's pig. Kids happy in the water. No chance of going and doing school work after such a chilled out start.
For those people who are not familiar with Waitangi, the Day celebrates the signing of a treaty between a number of Maori chiefs and the English crown. The content and intent of the treaty have been endlessly argued over since that day in 1842(?) but it remains an integral part of NZ life and embodies the idea that Maori and Pakeha should respect each other. I am expected to adhere to and to act in the spirit of te tiriti according to my appraisal documents as a teacher.
Every year there is a big gathering at Waitangi itself, a small settlement 1 1/2 hours from here. The Treaty Grounds are a popular visitor attraction that I personally have not yet visited. The prime minister goes for a dawn service on Waitangi Day and is held accountable for the state of Maori/ Pakeha affairs. In the past there have been demonstrations, egg throwing, insults and tears.
The new PM seems to have got most Maori onside by forming a coalition government with both the Maori Party and the right wing ACT party. He has made a number of fairly small concessions that are going down well. We shall see how his reception goes next year when we have had a full year of recession and he has had time to get going with his policies.
I would like to go to Waitangi next year with one or two of the boys. Chantelle and Eric would not like the crowds so they can stay at home. I saw the launching of a dozen waka and it was a powerful image even on TV so must have been amazing to witness live.

The rest of the weekend featured a BBQ for Irene at Pete's house with a real meat-fest. Took the boys over to Ruth and Stephan's on Sunday afternoon for a swim/shoot combo.

Eric is now an official Colleger and is setling into life as a year 9. He is coping pretty well. Stuart remains at the Intermediate for another year. paddy is in Year 6 at the primary.

That'll do for now.
No pics, haven't taken many recently.

Cute as

End of holiday - boo hoo

Kia ora koutou
The holiday is almost at an end. Term 1 2009 starts lumbering off on Monday, though it will take over a week for College to really get going. It will take more than a week for us all to readjust to getting up early, being in structured classrooms all day and then returning home in the evenings.

This has been a most excellent holiday in terms of chilling out.

We have had a good mix of being at home and pottering about, combined with a couple of trips away and with Richard’s visit thrown in and a whole lot of little day-trips. The boys claim to have been bored, proving that they are teenagers!

Our main holiday to Rotorua and Leigh was not really what I had expected. I thought that Rotorua would be full of casinos and be really tacky, smelly and touristy as I remembered it from my visit 20 years ago. Not a bit of it. We stayed 10km out of town in a pleasant holiday park Ngongotaha Holiday Park if you want a recommendation. We had a little 2 bed unit that was art deco in style but really comfortable and functional. Good well-equipped kitchen, was a stones throw from the lake, with an on-site swim pool and nearby park for the boys to disappear to. All for about $75 a night. While there we realised that our budget would not allow for trips to the major Rotorua sights, so we spent on good food and found activities for free from an excellent book called New Zealand for Free.
The picture below shows one such place – Kerosine Creek. Way up a metalled road, with no signs until you got there, but what a find. Steaming hot water as a river runs through forestry. The pool itself was shaded by huge trees so fine for bathing even in the heat of summer. It would be even more amazing in the winter with snow on the ground.
We also enjoyed the Ngongotaha Trout Hatchery – free and very interesting, looking at the different sized trout and talking to one of the workers there. They strip trout of their eggs and grow them to a size that they can be released into streams and lakes for people to catch.
We also delighted in the takeaway from The Indian Star in Rotorua, yumm mango lassi, butter chicken, lamb madras mmmmm….
Rotorua itself was huge compared to Kaitaia and we enjoyed window shopping. The boys were not that exciting in making a beeline for the Wharehouse, but they were also quite taken with a FairTrade shop and Eric and Patrick spent some cash there. It was quite warming to hear them explaining to me the importance of Fair Trade!

Then we hot footed it up to Leigh, just North of Auckland. We stopped en route at Candyland - a shop and museum full of sweets and really quite unwelcoming.

I had expected Leigh to be the best part of the trip. The accommodation was $155 a night at the Cottage of the Leigh Motel. The owners were friendly and the views of Little Barrier and Great barrier Island were pretty stunning. The mozzies were fierce and kitchen not as good as the Rotorua place. No park or pool. Otherwise fine.

Leigh is an old fishing village that sits on top of a cliff with a grid of suburban type villas. A road leads down to the harbour where commercial and private boats moor and refuel. We enjoyed the night time fishing using handlines, catching mostly small snapper. We got one that was legal and had it for tea.
Spent one morning at Goat Island marine reserve and enjoyed a trip on the glass bottom boat, looking at all the fish swimming about.
The fish and chip shop in Leigh is one of the best I have ever visited in the world. Cool sounds and the cleanest tasting batter you could imagine.
The Saw-mill was another cool place. An old Saw-mill (who’d have thought it!) that had been converted into a music venue that attracts some big names – Billy Bragg plus some NZ groups that are big … Plus there is a micro-brewery making several beers. I sampled "The Doctor" in the bar 6.5% and unlike any NZ beer I have tasted in its complexity and nutrition – like a liquid meal! Not like Complan.
The other place I really liked was Matakana - a small village between Leigh and the Main highway. Not sure how the place has evolved into what it is, but what a place. Good shops, including a fantastic delicatessen selling really good breads, cheeses and proscuttio which all tasted even better than the Indian takeaway! There was also a cinema there doing about 4 different films a day, including Arthouse and World Cinema. It was like a small piece of the best bits of Cambridge UK dropped into NZ. Not cheap, but very good.

We lost 2 chucks when we got home, probably to Salmonella transferred by wild birds. The water pump also packed up, so that needed fixing, and the water tank had not been replenished by some good rain storms while we were away, so we are now on extreme water conservation measures and considering buying in 10,000L for the first time since we moved here.

A few days later I took the boys camping at Diggers Valley at Ruth and Stephan’s farm. Hence the pic of Eric with his first rabbit. We lived in a field for 4 nights this time, cooking over a wood fire and sleeping under a tarp. Just trees and grass to look at all day, plus our hosts and some cows.

Stepan took us on a trap run high into the bush. I lugged an old .303 rifle round in case we came across wild pigs. There were signs of them high up in the bush, but none of them showed. It wa s arelief in a way as I did not have the strength in my legs at the end of the walk to be carrying out a dead pig!

The rest of the time has been spent getting the garden straight. It is cropping well on account of the irrigation it receives. The sun has been relentless and so lots of photosynthesis is going on. The pumpkins are swelling and we have made pasta sauce and soup out of them. We have even had a few meals of corn from plants that are as tall as me. Beans and peas are good, toms getting ripe. I screwed up with the water melons by giving them a too strong soup of rotted fish guts – killed them within 24 hours.

Eric and I killed the Pitt Island ram lamb last night, so we have just 5 sheep walking round now, and we are planning to re-home these as soon as we can. I have realised finally that sheep and trees do not mix. While at Diggers I had left a gate open allowing them access to the orchard. They stripped apple tress to the bark, that had spent 2 years recovering from the last sheep attack! Curses – the only solution is to get rid of the sheep and concentrate on having just trees. I will get a scythe and use that and chickens to control the grass.

So that’s about it. One summer holiday almost over. Back to the mad rush. Til next year!

Eric's rabbit

My first rabbit

After three years of watching the rabbits run around once a year in a field armed with a powerless air gun I was more than looking forward to be hunting with a .22. On Friday the 24th of January at 7:30 pm, I finally bagged one. Dad took me to a spot were he had seen plenty of rabbits the night before. Dad stayed way behind me while I took my position, and the waiting game started.
Finally after 20 minutes one came out of the woods. I had positioned myself under a fence and leaned my gun on a horizontal piece of wood. I was 60 yards away. I'll spare you the gory details, but shortly afterwards, I was holding a dead rabbit. And what a perfect breakfast it made.
By ERIC

Just a few snaps

Well even though we are on holiday, we have been busy, -well as busy as you can be in the hot weather.
Here are a few snaps to start with.
The first couple include Richard. We had a smashing time with him. One is at cape Reinga and the other was as he was about to depart Kaitaia airport.
Then there are a few of Rotarua. We stayed off the "tourist trip" and found a creek, that was steaming hot. You could only stay in for a couple of mins before feeling unwell.
And there is a nice one of Eric and stuart out infront of the lake Rotarua.

Google's "up your street"catches our house

Really bizarre!!!! They do church road Kaitaia, but not area's of families home in the UK. I reackoned NZ bagzed the camera first.
So if you have google earth , you must select inthe left hand drop down menu "street view"
you can enter 190 Church Road Kaitaia and see our house from various views, you can see sheep from one direction and the beehive from another.
I "think" when you have look stright on the house from the road ,if you spot a blurr, i"think" is our ever ready "zephyr " our lovely dog.
Have fun - we did, we even went up to 640 and saw Rissy and Mike house. SSSSOOO cooool.

End of year, start of 2009

I have not done an update for a while – the more time I have the less I do!
It is January 2nd and very hot. The computer temp clock was showing 29C. We are all spaced out from our trip fishing last night, but more of that later.

The non-fishing photos show a few things that have been going on here since we finished at school ages ago. The 3 original Pitt Island sheep have gone to live even further north on a larger block of land. They are joining the second pig that we used to have here. He has been re-named Henry and is loving the freedom to roam and forage with other pigs.

Chantelle is very shy about displaying her mosaic talents. There has been a constant stream of plates and pots flowing from her table.

The two Charles Dickens type urchins were first-footing on new Years Eve. They knocked on the back door after midnight and carried into the house wood for warmth, money for prosperity, salt for flavour, bread for food and a brandy for cheer. We had a very pleasant evening with Mike and Rissy etc. eating for about 4 hours then sitting around a fire in the back garden. There was some discussion about when 2009 started as all our watches were different and the fireworks in town started going off at about 8pm. Our 3 left-over fireworks woke up our neighbours safely into the New Year (sorrrrrry!) and that was that.

On New Year’s Day we were all a bit bushed and the boys very dutifully declared that it was TV free day. They then made up for the lack of entertainment by sparking off each other in various combinations. Chantelle wanted to go fishing and some-one had the bright idea at 4.30pm that we should stay over on Puketu Island as the tide came in overnight. That is a measure of how the times change as the kids grow up … we were ready to go in about half an hour.

The other pictures show some of what happened. We did get cut off by the tide. We caught fish and had fresh kahawai for a late supper. We slept for varying amounts of time on sloping basalt. We were surrounded by squeaking rodents that kept me awake most of the night. Paddy and Stu found an octopus in a rock pool. The fishing was hot about an hour before dark, with snapper, kahawai, small trevally, kingfish and rock cod all caught.

We were up at dawn this morning and had a less successful fish before walking out at 7 am, though Eric did catch another keeping snapper. Stuart is posing in front of a Pohutakawa aka Christmas tree on account of its time of flowering.

The countdown to the arrival of Uncle Richard is nearly over.

Our thoughts have been with our Italian relatives over the last few weeks.

After Xmas ...

Christmas Day!!

We had a relaxing start to our Christmas day, and that theme carried on during the entire day! Called Italy to send our regards, and will be doing the same tonight to other family members .
We had the Newman family over for a BBQ and a float around on the pond.( As seen on the photo)
The weather came out to play which was a relief as it had been raining for about 2 days preivous. But it turned out to be a steamer.
We also viewed the Queens speach after one news, at around 6.50pm, which made a change from the British time of 3pm.
So all i have to say now is have a cracking , peaceful Christmas!!!!!!