I'm sitting in our downstairs flat looking out the window at a very misty morning. Rotorua city has disappeared from below as the mist melds with the sky and makes a continuous curtain of white. My granddaughter and I watch mornings like this and describe it as a painter with a canvas, as the view gradually unfolds we imagine it is the painter sketching out then painting in his masterpiece.
To fill in since my last post: My niece H and I travelled in my wee motorhome around to the bottom of the South Island and back from mid February to the end of March. Although that may sound like a long time it definitely was not long enough as there is so much to see in our land and it is much bigger than anyone ever realises. The loose plan was to freedom camp for 2 or 3 nights then stay at a campgrounds for proper showers etc a night or two but as it was once we were on the road we freedom camped for almost 2 weeks before staying at a powered site with showers. That's how easy it is to lose time lol, and to stay in the camper. Honestly it was an awesome trip and I think H got to see some great sights.
A couple to mention - We were driving into Lake Tekapo on a windy day (windy days are awful when driving a big square brick on an open road, H however is a great driver) the mountains were all slate grey and I said to H "Oh I wish you could see the mountains with snow on them as they are really beautiful". Next morning I walked to the lake edge for a wander before coffee and ran back to the camper and told H to hold the coffee and we motored off around to the lake front. There across the water we sat and drank our morning coffee looking across the lake at beautiful snow topped mountains! It had snowed in the night.
Second amazing thing was - we drove out to Milford Sound (a fiord) on a lovely day, there are some great sights on that road including the Mirror Lakes which require no wind for the best viewing, and guess what :) Arrived and booked in at the campsite and voila there was a boat tour of the Sound going in half an hour so H jumped on that straight away. That night it started to rain, and rain... In the morning we woke up to a most amazing sight. Being in a fiord surround closely on each side with steep mountains we found we were now surrounded by millions of waterfalls falling from a great height. We drove slowly out of Milford stopping a lot and just absorbing the wonder of that place. How lucky were we!
Although I've mentioned only those two very special moments there were so many other places that were just awesome that even though I'm a Mainlander (born in the South Island) I know I have to go and experience more of it, and for longer. The beauty of the South Island has to be seen to be believed, I know travel is not on at the moment but everyone should put it on their bucket list for sure.
When we got back to Rotorua my son and his family had moved into our home so we were a full house which I love. H headed off to Auckland to her cousin to help him out and escape the hoards lol. My life became rising early with my 3 year old grandson M and granddaughter K who luckily wake at the same time as me around 6 - 6.30am. I get us breakfast and we start the day together.
During the school holidays I piled 4 of my grandies into the camper and we went and stayed a few nights at a campground with hotpools. It was wonderful and we all had a good time and lots and lots of swims. The motorhome has 6 seatbelts which is one of the reasons I was so taken with it. Even though it's a very small space we all managed to have a good time together and I'm looking forward to doing it again.
Our flatmate downstairs got a pensioner flat in town and moved out into that a week ago and Kent and I moved downstairs. It has one bedroom, lounge and kitchentte and is a lovely space to be in. This allows the family to have their own space above and Kent his own space too as he's not really child oriented.
While I was away Kent had a fall down our staircase and damaged 2 of his vertebrae. Unfortunately his back will only repair itself over time but at the moment it only appears to be getting worse and worse. He's on pain meds of course but they only take the top off it, he's on reduced hours at work and spends a lot of time in bed where he is the most comfortable.
I have turned 65 years old! Wow where did those years go... Not sure how you are supposed to feel at 65 but I always thought it was old but I dont feel old yet. A good thing though is that I now go on the NZ superannuation (old age pension) so will have some money for more trips in the camper - YAY!
