Australia Part 9: Big Desert, Pink Lakes and The Flinders Ranges

Sunday 3 Mar, 2024

In the morning, we packed up and left Lonsdale Lake and headed northwest. We stopped at a few towns to do some grocery shopping and laundry, and to take some showers. Then, we carried on North to Big Desert. The landscape got dryer and dryer along the way, and it marvelled us to think what the farms in these parts actually farmed, with it just looking like mostly bare land. Then we entered the protected desert area of Big Desert. We drove for an hour or so until we were truly in the middle of nowhere, at Big Billy Bore’s campground. We settled in for the evening.

Monday 4 Mar, 2024

Next day, we played it easy at our campsite in the morning. We took a walk to the lookout nearby and then did some schoolwork. After lunch we decided to leave the caravan behind and have a drive on one of the nearby tracks through the desert. These tracks have no gravel or anything on them, so we let some of the air out of our tyres to help with driving on the sand and then had a good time, for about 3 hours we enjoyed the sites of the desert. The plants changed subtly along the drive, in many places, they were made of lots of small shrubs and plants and in other places it was with a few short trees thrown in for variety. All ranged from a varied array of muted colours. Greens, reds, purples, orange, and yellows all from the desert and then the big blue sky. It was beautiful. Some things we saw were, a large kangaroo taking a nap, a huge sand dune that we were not able to drive over, and some footprints that looked to be made by a dingo. The kids really enjoyed the ride, bouncing down the sandy track. They giggled and laughed much of the way. Then, it was back to camp for a quick meal and then bedtime. I had hoped we would see some more animals, but even the birds were really scarce here. We weren’t sure if they were actually not there, or if they were just hiding.

Tuesday 5 Mar, 2024

In the morning Darren spotted a long line of caterpillars marching across the path to the toilets. We looked them up and they are called, ‘Processionary Caterpillars’ and are the larva of the Shelter Bag Moth. If you touch their hairs, it makes you sick. We are glad that we didn’t touch them. They move together as a group to look for a new food source when they finish stripping a choice tree. We watched for a while and saw how at one point the group leader switched places with the caterpiller behind him, and then the group split into 3 separate groups and carried on in different directions. It was fascinating to watch! After that, we up and left Big Desert and headed to Murray Sunset National Park.

We had plans to stay at Murray Sunset until Friday to do some of the tracks there, but when we arrived a sign said the park was closed to overnight campers. So, we decided to look around at the pink lakes for a short while and then just carry on west into South Australia earlier than planned. The pink lakes used to be mined for salt. Each winter salty water comes up from under the lake as the water table rises. Then when it dries out in the summer it leaves a think later of salt in the summer. The pink colour comes from a bacterium that live in the salt which make beta carotene. After moving on, we entered South Australia, had some showers at Loxton then found our campsite at Wiggly Flat on the Murray River. As we drove into our campsite, we came across an Echidna crossing the road. We all got out and got a good look at him.

Looking at some salt from the stockpiles that were left here from the mining days.

The pink colour is darker and lighter depending on the sunlight and other factors.

Walking on the salt felt a little bit like walking on snow.

Echidna

Wednesday 6 Mar, 2024

In the morning, we had a better look around. The river was beautiful and it was quite peaceful, but the bugs were not very nice by the river, and it was very humid. I had a look around at the local bird life and saw a whole flock of spoonbills, some pelicans, and some herons. When they saw me looking at them, then flew up into these huge dead trees and looked down at me. Then we packed up and headed north to Jamestown, where we had some showers, then Peterborough, where we did laundry. There was a neat steam train to look at in this town.

Spoonbills

Next, we carried on to Yunta, then turned left onto Tea Tree Road which led us to the Wakaringa Ghost Town where they used to mine gold. We arrived after dark and made our way to the top of a hill next to a stone chimney. We settled in for the night.

Thursday 7 Mar, 2024

It turned very windy during the night and in the morning, we knew we didn’t want to stay here for another night. We had a look around the old town and the ruins and searched to ground for anything interesting. We didn’t find any gold, but we did find some neat clear crystals.

We continued on Tea Tree Road. That was an adventure in itself trying to drive it. We had 4 river crossings, one of which we had to drive up the river, and 2 bog drive arounds while towing the caravan. It was a treat for Darren.

Then came out of the dirt roads near Hawker, then carried on north through Flinders Ranges National Par The views on this drive were marvellous! We had dinner along here, then found our campsite in the Parachilna Gorge.

Friday 8 Mar, 2024

We packed up and drove out of the Flinders National Park. The sites were so neat. The colours were reddish brown and light metallic greens and greys. The rocks looked like the skin on a pudding that had been wrinkled up and down over the landscape. We drove through the wrinkles of earth. It made us think of the effects of Noah’s flood, and the power that was present to lift and twist the earth. We marvelled at the power of God. Then we came out on the Outback Highway and headed north towards the Oodnadatta Track.

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Housebus Travels Part 11: East Cape

December 7, 2020

We left Tomomaru Bay and headed north to Te Araroa. On the way we saw views of Mount Hikurangi. Then we went east along the coast out to the eastern Cape of New Zealand. The road going east was quite run down, as were the fences, as livestock were roaming on the road. It was a drive of rugged and majestic views.

When we got to the cape, we took a family photo and then I took the kids up to the light house. There were 800 steps. The steps looked to be old rail way planks or something, at least they where put in to look that way. The kids climbed them great. It took us about 25 minutes. The view was marvelous.

The sun was setting so we rushed back down to meet Darren and drove back to Te Araroa to look at New Zealand’s largest and oldest Pohutakawa tree, also known as the New Zealand Christmas tree. We were astounded by its size! Then, we headed to Te Kaha for the night.

December 8, 2020

In the morning, we got up and drove to Omaio, where Darren fished and I read some stories to the kids, then we went onward to Opotiki, where we did some laundry and had a look around at the town centre. Then we found our campspot. There was a playground, which was nice. On the drive, we could see white Island just off the coast. White Island is an active stratovolcano and New Zealand’s most active cone volcano. It has been actively letting out gas for hundreds of years.

Click to read about White Island

In Opotiki, there were horses wandering in some of the parks. Apparently, many of the locals own horses and just let them wander around. We were constantly intrigued by the mindset of the people in this part of the country, in how they did things. It sparked a lot of conversation while driving.

One thing we were surprised by was the lack of freedom camping spots between here and Tokomaru Bay. There was essentially nothing for that long stretch. We had anticipated spending a lot longer in this area, but it really wasn’t possible to. The spots that were available were not always very nice. There was one place we quite liked, but there were behives in the corner of the paddock and lots of clover in the lawn; not a good combination with barefooted kiddos…

Pohutakawa Blossoms. We tasted the nectar and it was sweet!

December 9, 2020

Another thing we were surprised by was the lack of places to fill up our fresh water jugs between Gisborne and Whakatane, which is pretty much the entirety of the region known as east cape. If you want to spend a longer time in this area, you must have large water tanks with you. We would have been able to make our water stretch for about 10 days. This covered our drinking and cooking water. We would not have had enough if we stayed for the 26 days that our permit allowed. This information would have been really nice to know back in Gisborne.

In the morning we packed up and headed south on Highway 2 through the Waioeke Gorge. The views were beautiful. We continued until we were back in Gisborne. When we arrived, we realised we had a flat tyre and had to rush to get it fixed before shops closed, then we drove onward to the campsite we had previously enjoyed on Mahia Peninsula.

That evening, Darren helped another camper get into his vehicle after locking his keys inside. Then he went fishing with his spear and caught 10 flounder. We froze some, gave some away and ate some the next day.

December 10, 2020

In the morning, Darren tried fishing in the river again, while the kids and I played in the water. From Mahia, we drove south to Napier and settled in for the night. We essentially travelled in 3 days coming south what we took 3 weeks going north. It was a long three days, but I had an overwhelming sense to get back home and enjoy a bit of normality before starting work in January. We really enjoyed our adventure for how long we could do it though.

December 11, 2020

We did some errands that took most of the day in Hastings and then drove home to Palmerston North. It was very good to be home again. In the following days we did a lot of laundry, cleaning, and also picked the onions and garlic in our garden. It’s amazing how many weeds grow in 6 weeks…

For those who have been with me, reading from the beginning, thank you for coming along on the adventure with us!!

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Housebus Travels Part 10: Tolaga Bay

December 2, 2020

We hit the road early and drove past Paua beach and it’s many permanent campers and went to Loisels Beach at Waihau Bay. We were the only souls there, yet the campsite had 22 empty caravans parked there. It was a little weird. Kind of like a ghost town.

The beach was really quite nice, but no good for fishing, despite the picture of a man fishing there on our map. We thought it was a bit too shallow for fish. We stayed there for lunch, Darren and Boy had a swim and then I washed my hair in the sea. After that, we drove back out  and onward to Tolaga Bay.

At Tolaga Bay we had a look at the town and marveled at how such a tiny grocery store could have almost everything you would need. It had a general store feel to it. We bought some milk. Then we drove to the campsite and called it a night. We were almost the only ones there, and no campervans littering the lawn.

December 3, 2020

In the morning I did a lot of meal prep, then we packed a lunch and walked the 600 m out to the end of the warf. It was windy out there! But we managed to keep our hats… And our plates with only one mishap. Darren then tried fishing but sad to say, didn’t even get a bite.

The kids and I walked back to get some coats and met Darren back at the end, where we took some photos and then gathered up our things and went back to the bus. We drove to a little park so the kids could play. The town was quite friendly. Some kids gave Boy and Girl a lolly each. Girl fell and scraped her knee, but Darren saved the day by buying popsicles. Back at our camp site, we had dinner and then I did some laundry by hand before calling it a night.

December r 4, 2020

We just did some ‘housework’ today. I hung laundry in the sun, cooked and tidied up for the weekend. We lazed around our campsite and enjoyed the nice weather.

December 5, 2020

On this day I did some crafts in the morning with the kids and then after lunch we took a walk up to the top of the Tatarakahe Cliff walk, which was a short walk up to the top of the cliffs that line Tolaga Bay. At the top, we were surprised to notice how the cliffs decend almost as quickly on the other side. We had 360° views from the top except for a tree that was in the way. It was a short and steep climb, but we all did well. It was fun to spot our bus far below, and to look at all the things look so tiny.

December 6, 2020

I packed a lunch and we drove to the trailhead of the Cooks Cove walkway. Darren went fishing and the kids and I walked up steep farmland to a tall lookout over the Cove where Captain Cook came and restocked on firewood, water and food. It was one of the first places he visited on his first trip to New Zealand. The locals here were very friendly upon his arrival. After 6 days he continued around the coast of New Zealand.

This walk was really quite neat for me. Mostly because 8 years ago, plus just a few days, I did this walk as my first ever bush walk in New Zealand. Little did I know then, that I would come back and do it again with my then unborn children. Back then, I had thoughts of staying but really only dreamed of staying maybe 3 years. A couple months ago I recieved citizenship in New Zealand. I am really glad I was able to come back to this place.

After the lookout, the trail literally plunged down, down, down, into the bush, made of twisted and whimsical trees, until we came to the very bottom at near sea level and a short walk to Cook’s Cove. My phone didn’t charge the previous night, so I wasn’t able to get a photo of the kids in front of it… I’m really sad about that, but I’ve included a photo I found online. The kids had a realy good time. They ran and played on the down and flat parts, and didn’t complain much on the ups.

After climbing back up through the trees and back down the farmland, we met Darren at the bus. He didn’t catch any fish, but did see a ‘captain cooker’ down at the river. That is, a wild boar initially brought over by Captain Cook himself. Darren said it was unusually friendly, and we wondered if it was someone’s pet. After a short rest, we drove to Tokomaru Bay for the night. The kids played in the sand and Darren fished some more before bedtime, catching a small kahawai.

Cooks Cove. Click photo to see the original.

A ‘captain cooker’

December 7, 2020

We have had a lot of curveballs come to us this past week. We started our trip without an end date in mind. First, we decided to return home early January to get ready for my new job, then Darren got a phone call for an appointment we need to be back for just before Christmas, and then we talked with a lady that may have somewhere for us to stay while I work next year, and she needs to meet us before December 14. So, we’ve decided to accelerate our travels and head home by the end of the week. Because of this, we didn’t stay in Tokomaru Bay another night, but headed off to see the rest of East Cape.

Kawakawa Tree leaves and berries. Also is known as the Pepper Tree. Berries taste tropical, but full of small black seeds that taste like black pepper. Leaves can be used to make soothing lotions.

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Housebus Travels Part 9: Gisborne

November 26, 2020

After seeing the Mangaone cave, we drove close to Gisborne and parked just outside the Te Wherowhero lagoon near Muriwai. We released the few hermit crabs from the last beach and then settled in for the night.

November 27, 2020

In the morning be explored the lagoon. We found mostly snails and crabs. Boy enjoyed trying to scare the crabs out of their holes. We saw something splashing in the lagoon and we think it was a little shark. I also saw a few baby flounder about the size of a coin. Legend among the locals is that there are giant flounder in the area.

We pondered coming back to try catching a giant flounder, and then drove into Gisborne to take care of some errands. We checked out the Gisborne Botanical Gardens and in the evening we parked at a beach in Makorori. The weather was hot and the water was beautiful. Boy’s favourite thing is letting the waves splash into him. Girl’s least favourite thing is the waves getting her. So we did our best to cool off and then called it a day.

November 28, 2020

Today we went to church and had lunch there. It was nice to chat with people about our trip and hear a bit of advice from the locals. Then in the afternoon we went and took a walk in the Gray’s Bush Senic Reserve Reserve just outside of town.

A Puriri Tree hugging a Kahikatea Tree. A rare sight, as they have different prefered growing conditions.

For the evening we went back to the lagoon near Muriwai and Darren had a go looking for giant flounder. He didn’t see any flounder but did notice some shrimp as well as crabs swimming. He was surprised to see them actually swimming rather than just crawling on the sand in the water.

November 29, 2020

We ran errands all day, because after Gisborne there will be no large towns until we are around the east cape. We bought a permit that would allow us to stay on the campsites in the area for 26 days, so we expect to take our time and enjoy the cape. Since we are well stocked, I have decided to challenge myself to spend no money on groceries except milk and maybe eggs for the next 2 weeks.

When we finally left town, we traveled to Turihaua Beach. We settled in and saw a man burning a bonfire on the beach. We went to look at the fire and had a chat with the man. He told us that he used to live and work in Australia and how he had to come back to New Zealand when Covid happened. Along with his wife, he’s been living on the beach since then, in a tent and caravan and working in Gisborne. They are hoping to return to Australia when things open up.

November 30, 2020

We had a relaxed morning and afternoon, playing on the beach and fishing. There was a small lagoon with lots of baby fish swimming around. We saw flounder, eel and kahawai babies. A girl from another campsite came and played with the kids in the water. When it started raining I called the kids in and we all warmed up near the fire. For the rest of the day we read stories and played card games.

December 1, 2020

It pretty much rained all day. We did more of the same stuff inside. Near the end of the day we went for a drive and also switched campsites at the same location. On our drive we checked out the next two camping locations and noticed how many people were actually living there as permanent campers. We had a chat with the lady employed to check permits. She said while it’s legal, its a real problem, especially with the housing crisis in New Zealand. All those people will need to find somewhere else to go after summer when the permit rules change. It felt a bit like a makeshift, lowscale trailer park. We asked the lady if there were any sites that were a bit less like that and she told us of a few places she considered better.

We had very much been wanting to explore the east coast and east cape since we had never experienced this region of New Zealand. But we both feel that this will be our last time through this area. The beaches are beautiful, and the weather is warm but we felt that New Zealand could do a bit better than what we saw there and we prefer places that are actually free and where people don’t congregate. It didn’t feel entirely safe.

December 2, 2020

We packed up and drove to our next location.

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Housebus Travels Part 8: Mahia Peninsula

November 22, 2020

After we left Shine Falls, we drove to Wairoa where we parked on the beach for the night. We lit a fire and hung up all our laundry and it was dry before we packed up in the morning.

Some treasures from the beach

November 23, 2020

The Wairoa beach was quite wild and not that nice so we decided to top up on water and groceries and head to the Mahia Peninsula which is actually an island joined to the mainland by a tombolo. A tombolo is a sand isthmus, or joining piece that connects an island to the mainland. It first connected the island hundreds of years ago so there are estsblished communities and roads on the island.

Mahia is actually quite an upscale region and there were quite a lot of rules about camping there. So because of this, there were only a few places we could park overnight. We were hoping it would be different than that, but made the most of our time there anyway. The first place we explored was Blue Bay at the Opoutama Beach Reserve. Darren tried fishing but didn’t like how the weeds kept getting on his line, so after a bit of a play in the water and on the driftwood, we packed up and went to the other camp spot called Oraka Reserve.

Oraka Reserve is right next to an Estuary with mudflats, so that evening Darren took a light and his spear and went fishing for flounder. He came back an hour or so later with three fish! We were thrilled to finally have some success. If anyone is curious how I cooked the fish, I made a cauliflower curry recipe with some of it which can be found here: https://honestcooking.com/coconut-fish-curry-cauliflower-potatoes-recipe/

November 24, 2020

In the morning, Darren filleted the flounder. The kids found it enthralling to watch. Girl made sure to tell us, “The fish is not moving, and that is why it is dead”. We cooked up half of it for lunch ans saved the rest for later.

After filleting the flounder, we took a drive around to see where the roads on the peninsula would go. The Mahia West Coast Road went to a walking track but was only suitable for 2 tonne vehicles or under so we turned around. The Mahia East Coast Road went all the way out to the end of the Peninsula to Onenui Station where New Zealand has its very own rocket launching laboratory. The point it sits on sees the first sunrise of the world every morning. We were not allowed to go to the end, so we turned around and parked at the Whangawehi River mouth to eat lunch and had a poke around on the beach there. The views were great though. We also saw wild peacocks and turkeys.

At the rivermouth, Darren fished and the kids saw a stingray swimming, some jellyfish, and some fish. Darren managed to catch 3 kahawai that were worth keeping so that was exciting too! The little rockpools near the fishing spot had rock pool anenome that were fun to poke. Boy enjoyed poking them to make them suck their tentacles inside and below the sand and then watch as they slowly came out again.

Darren let Girl throw out the fishing line and she was surprised that she didn’t catch a fish in the first minute. She said, “I’m not good at fishing, I’m done.” and was off to go play again. Lol!

After fishing we went back to the Oraka Reserve for the night. Before bed, I did more laundry and we lit a fire to dry it over night.

November 25, 2020

We woke up to drizzly and windy and dreary weather. So, we relit the fire and did some cozy activities inside. When we were at Shine Falls Darren cut up and stored away an entire little Lusitanica tree he found that had already fallen down and dried out. This has been such a blessing despite the room it takes up. We are slowly working through it on days like this. We praise God for allowing us to find it.

Late morning we packed up and drove to Morere Hot Springs. We had lunch at the cafe and then spent 3 hours in the hot pools. Just before we decided to get out of the pools the staff said we had to leave because a tree had just fallen on one of their pipes. They offered us a refund, which meant we had a free afternoon, which was very relaxing. After showers we went back to Oraka Reserve for the evening.

November 26, 2020

So we could make the most of low tide, we headed to some rockpools. Boy and Girl went from pool to pool, looking into the water. We saw mostly seaweed and sea snails, but did manage to find a few other treasures.

We enjoyed picking up sea snails and watching them snap their shell doors shut over their bodies. We found one shell that had a translucent snail body with white stripes on it in a grey shell. It even was so brave to poke it’s head out for us so we could see it’s tiny eyes and eye stalks. We found a small red sea anemone, as well as a few hermit crabs.

Darren said he saw some sea urchins when he went farther out to throw out his fishing line. We didn’t sea any, but we did find some of their old and broken shells which were really pretty. I also enjoyed finding bits of broken glass and shell that had been smoothed by the sand.

Darren didn’t have any luck fishing, as the sea was quite wild due to the rain that fell the day before, so after a couple of hours, we went in and had a lunch made with the kahawai fish we caught the other day.

After lunch we packed up and left the peninsula. Not far away was the turn off to Mangaone Caves. It was a steep climb and then a gentle walk to get to the cave mouth. It was very muddy and wet inside, so we were only able to walk down to the bottom of the steps. However, it was still really neat to feel the damp, cool air and hear the water dripping from the cave roof. Girl was a little nervous about going into the dark, but she did great and both kids said they liked the cave.

On our way back to the main road we stopped to pick a bag full of lemons from a giant wild tree on the side of the road. They were the ugliest lemons we had ever seen, but they smelled and tasted great! Then we were off to the city of Gisborne.

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Housebus Travels Part 7: Waterfalls

November 18, 2020

We got up and the kids spent the morning hanging out with Nana and Papa. While doing some meal prep, I got a phone call from the school that interviewed me the day before. They said they were very impressed with my interview and offered me a job starting in the next year. It looks like I’ll be teaching some high school chemistry for 2 terms next year! It’s just the job we need to fill in the financial gap before Darren’s work starts on the farm we move to next year. After chatting a bit about that news, we drove up to Te Mata Peak for lunch. We had a little look around then rushed inside the bus to avoid the shower that passed over.

After lunch, we headed to Maraetotara Falls on the Maraetotara River. While we walked down to the falls we spotted both a brown trout and a rainbow trout which was so neat to see. They swam under the rocks as soon as they saw us, but Darren went and got a fishing rod and spinner anyway just to see if he could coax them out. We didn’t have any luck so headed back to the bus and drove to a beautiful spot on the riverbank of the Tukitiki River to park for the night. Darren lit a little fire and everyone played around a bit then brought everything in when some heavier rain started.

November 19, 2020

Darren spent the morning collecting some wood for our bus fire, since rain is forcast for later this week. We watched out the window as a man drove his car backwards past our bus on the gravel track and into a giant puddle filled hole. We went out to talk with him and he said he comes down to the river regularly like this to get a bit of water for his cows from the river. The big rain we got last week must have washed out the track as there was a little creek flowing down in now. Papa pulled the man out and he was on his way. I suppose its a reminder to never get complacent in life. Always be vigilant for what may be around you. A good idea figuratively and spiritually as well.

The kids took a nice nature walk and played in the river with Nana and Papa before we drove to the laundromat to do some washing while we had lunch. After that we said goodbye to Nana and Papa as they went back home. Then we headed to the Waikare River Mouth Campsite. We set up camp and had dinner, looked around and went to bed.

November 20, 2020

In the morning, all three campers that had been on site had packed up and left. They seemed to have been there a while, but we think they may have left because there was a school camp going on in the next paddock over which was quite noisy. They were packing up as well. Soon, we had the whole place to ourselves, which made the place so much nicer! It didn’t last however. A van drove in later and parked in the corner. The man in the van turned out to be a fairly nice old man who was a regular in the area.

View of the river and our campsite from the trail to the beach

The kids did some fishing at the river with Darren in the morning, and after lunch I took them on a 2 km walk to the beach. It was such a lovely beach. The views were breathtaking and the sand and rocks inviting. On our way there and back we saw cows and wild goats.

Then, we cleaned up the bus, and all had a wash out of a tub. We imagined Laura and Almanzo from the Little House on the Prarie book series as they were bathed in a tub in front of the fire once a week. Oh the memories we are making!

November 21, 2020

Today we just hung out around the bus and relaxed. We didn’t do much at all, a nice day.

November 22, 2020

Darren has been trying to catch a decent fish since we started our journey. He figured out how to catch little bait fish by using tiny hooks and so this morning he went out early to try and use the fresh bait to catch a bigger fish. He didn’t have any luck. So, I did some laundry and then we packed up and went to Shine Falls.

We had lunch and while Darren squirreled away some good firewood he found, the kids and I went on a walk to see the waterfall. On our way there we were fortunate enough to spot the rare and gorgeous and almost extinct Kakabeak tree! It had a lone flower left on it from spring which allowed us to identify it. The flower looks like the beak of the Kaka Parrot.

Blooming Kakabeak Tree

Then onward to the falls which did not dissapoint. Spectacular and breathtaking was the view. We were in awe as it misted on us being so close to it. The photos really don’t do it justice. After returning to the bus, we drove onward to find our next spot for the night.

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Housebus Travels Part 6: Hastings and Napier

November 13, 2020

In the mornig we packed up and headed to Hastings. We bought some groceries, emptied our tanks, dumped rubbish etc.. Then we took the kids to a neat park. Boy played in the water and girl swung on swings and climbed. We then found a pool and all had a shower. We parked up at the Clifton Road Reserve. It was mostly rocks and not much space to explore so we spent one night there.

November 14, 2020

In the morning we went to church at the Napier SDA church, then went to the Bluff point lookout for lunch. The views were amazing. You can see all the way to Gisbon across the sea. Beautiful… After that we drove out to the Puketapu Domain and had a nice afternoon playing at the park there. We also found wild mock strawberries and picked a bunch before realising they didn’t taste nice at all.

There was a sign posted on the park warning of nesting magpies, and they weren’t a problem until later in the day. Then they wouldn’t stop dive bombing the kids. That paired with the fact that a drunk lady decided she wanted to be a bit more friendly than we were comfortable with made us decide to pack up and find a place elsewhere for the night. We drove back to the beach and stayed at the Haumoana Domain which was really nice.

November 15, 2020

We spent the morning fishing and playing by the sea. I found some sea lettuce and tried it in a salad. It was really leathery to the touch but in a salad it actually wasn’t all tjat different. It wasn’t crunchy like iceberg but was a bit more like mesculin in texture. In the afternoon we played in the grass and went for a bit of a walk on the tracks nearby. It was truly a lovely day.

We met a man that said he was diagnosed with a benign tumor that was invading his spine. He had to stop work because of it. He decided to sell his house and buy a van and travel around, and he’s so happy because of it. His tumor is even receding a bit. It’s amazing to hear the stories of people that choose this lifestyle. It seems like getting out and seeing the country brought joy and a positive outlook that helped him to feel better and to help his body fight his health issues.

November 16, 2020

This was a maintenance day. We got up, went and paid for some laundry, then I took the kids to the Napier aquarium. After that we picked up some things at the grocery store, and headed to the Clive Ski Reserve which had a very nice area for freedom campers.

We had dinner and went fishing. Boy reeled in fish that was on Girls hook because their lines were tangled together. It was great fun.

November 17, 2020

I had a job interview at a school for a temporary position at 2 pm so we played around at the park and had lunch before the appointment. Darren took the kids while I was busy. After the interview we met up with Darren’s parents back at the same place we stayed the night prior. Boy and Girl thoroughly enjoyed spending timd with Nana and Papa for the evening.

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Housebus Travels Part 5: Kairakau Beach

November 10, 2020

After packing up I took the kids to the settlers museum in Waipawa. We enjoyed looking at the exhibits and they liked playing with the old typewriters and things. The kids picked up a couple of free toys outside a thrift store on the way back to the bus. Then we stopped by a local pool and I paid $2 for a shower.

Next we headed to Kairakau Beach. It greeted us with beautiful steep cliffs on both sides of the river flowing out to sea, with our parking spot right on the edge of the beach. The afternoon cleared up enough for us to have a little walk and to watch the sun go down. Then the rain came back and kept on most of the next day.

November 11, 2020

We spent a cozy day inside painting and resting, until the rain stopped and we could do a bit more exploring. We found some giant boulders to play on but didnt stay too long because Girl was rather afraid of the waves which were quite close to the rocks. Darren kept our supply of firewood topped up and after dinner I hand washed some clothes and hung them to dry. Our neighbors had a nice little dog the children enjoyed petting.

Then to wind down for the night, Darren and I played checkers by the warm fire and talked about how much society has forgotten about how manual things used to be. Everything was so much work a couple hundred years ago. People didn’t usually have time for idle hands. I think much of the problems in todays world could be solved by keeping people from having idle hands. People have time now to worry about such small problems, and to get into mischief. This is partly why we are thankful to have the opportunity to do things the hard way sometimes. These things build character and give a sense of gratitude for what we have.

November 12, 2020

The weather was awesome. Sunny and warm. We spent the day fishing and caught one fish. Girl really doesn’t like the waves, so we try not to get too close. Boy likes the waves so it is sometimes a delicate balance… Lol. I also did quite a bit of laundry by hand and baked for the weekend. One of the great things about a house bus is after you’ve had your fun outside, you can still go inside and function like you would at home.

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Housebus Travels Part 4: Rain and Fire

November 8, 2020

After we went fishing we went to Waipakarau to get a few things and then to Waipawa to dump our grey water tank. The weather got colder and wetter and the laundry I did in the morning was still not dry. I started to get a little worried that Girl would run out of dry clothing in the near future. So when we parked at the Elsthorpe Scenic Reserve we went hunting for sticks to light our fire so we could get our laundry dry. I actually felt rather proud at our effort and enjoyed the adventure of making do with what we could find. We always could just drive up the road the next day to a town laundromat, or even buy a little firewood. But isn’t it a much better story to tell that we hunted for sticks in the dark for our fire and strung a line inside the bus? I think so. If we get tired of that we can always go spend some money on convenience.

November 9, 2020

Most of the clothes were dry in the morning. The fire was a great success. After our morning routine we went outside to check out our surroundings. There was a little bush walk through more podicarp native trees. We found some more dryish wood and went back to to restart our fire.

After lunch we decided to drive back to Waipukurau to buy a small hand saw and a garden sheers to make finding wood a little easier. We already have a little hatchet but it’s not quite enough. The rain is supposed to last a couple more days so they will come in handy.

After parking on a riverbank, Darren had a bath in the river and then came in and read me a text he sent to his dad. He said:

“It’s cold and has been raining non stop since yesterday, things hanging all over the place drying, I’ve got a toasty fire going from sticks we scavenged and I’ve been down the river bed with loppers and a hand saw. I’ve been drying the wood out on a rack on the fire and stacking it up for later, Katherine and the kids are cooking dinner and every half hour I go around with the window vacuum and suck up the condensation running down the windows. The older I get the more convinced I am that the difference between hardship and adventure is mostly attitude.”

If anyone is interested in what I was making with the kids it was these cookie bars.

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Housebus Travels Part 3

November 6, 2020

It started raining so we quickly went back to the bus and packed up so we could leave the gravel pit and head to the beach. The weather cleared up soon after that and when we arrived at Porangahau beach we enjoyed a lovely time playing on the beach and setting up camp.

Darren bought a surf casting fishing rod just for this trip so he gave that a go but didn’t catch anything. Without Internet we tried to figure out when high tide and low tide were by looking at a calendar to find when the full moon was and by doing all sorts of mathematical gymnastics.

November 7, 2020

For Sabbath morning, we sang some songs and read the story of Samson. We did a few crafts to go with the story and then took a little walk on the beach. I discovered that my tide calculations were incorrect, so I tried to figure them out again and the new time made more sense.

Boy found an empty bottle so we caught a few sand creatures and put them inside. We came back to the bus and packed a picnic which we enjoyed under some trees. Then we went back out to the beach and played in the sand. Darren enjoyed burying the kids and they found it funny trying to get out. We came back to the bus and cleaned up the sand that had made its way into every nook and cranny of Boy and Girl.

I tried to find things in nature that could make a full rainbow. I think I did pretty good. I couldn’t find blue, but blue is always the hardest. If I could pick a piece of the sky I would. The kids and I took a walk around the little beach town and spotted a few Tuis flying between some trees. It was a lovely and relaxing day. We had dinner and just chilled until bedtime.

November 8, 2020

In the morning I washed a basket full of dirty clothes at the fountain near our site. The kids played in the cold showers outside the toilets. We had lunch and then packed up the bus and went fishing by a bridge. The wind blew off Darren’s hat and we couldn’t retrieve it. Later on the only other fishers at the river brought it back to us. We were so surprised!

Darren helped Boy reel in a kawaii fish. We put it in a bucket of water and it jumped out right away and landed back in the river. We all laughed! Later he reeled in a Spotty, that we through back. After about 2 hours Darren helped Girl reel in a short finned freshwater eel. We got cold so we stopped fishing and headed to our next stop for the night.

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